Berlin to Köln / Cologne / Koeln by train

How to travel from Berlin to Köln / Cologne by train

Every hour during the day a swish ICE train travels from Berlin to Koln / Cologne so this is an exceptionally easy journey.
And now there are also three 'Sprinter' services per day which are non-stop from the German capital to Koln.
Then for travel overnight, sleeper trains aren't available on this route, but one of the ICE trains is made available.

Cities including Aachen, Bonn and Koblenz have less frequent trains from Berlin, so when the timings of those trains don't suit, connections are available in Koln hbf.

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Routes

Option: Travel by day on the hourly ICE trains

Travel Information

Final Destination: Koln Hbf/Dusseldorf Hbf or Koblenz Hbf

These trains also call at: Wuppertal

Departing From Berlin:

These trains commence their journey at Berlin Ostbahnhof station, which lives up to it name with a location to the east of the city centre.

They also usually depart from the upper most level in Berlin Hbf.

If your journey is commencing in West Berlin, the quickest option is to take a Regio train from Berlin Zoologischer Garten station to Berlin-Spandau station and join these trains to Koln there.

Check your connections in Berlin on this public transport map.

1 x train per hour

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 6 months ahead of the travel date - usually

Reservations:

Book 1st class ticket journey tickets and your seat reservation is included, but they're optional when booking 2nd class tickets, or if you will be travelling with a 1st or 2nd class rail pass.

Though for this comparatively short journey the reservation fees of €4.50 in 2nd class and €5.90 in 1st class are relatively expensive.

Finding Tickets:

When making an online booking, check that you’re looking at booking info for these direct ICE trains.

On the DB booking site look for journeys that have
0 in the Chg. column
ICE  (and only ICE) in the Products column.

Trains departing at different times can be cheaper than others leaving on the same day, so you may need to look through the day's departures to find the cheapest fares.

Use the earlier/later buttons to search for the cheapest ticket prices.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
DB from €17.90

DB Guide

DB is the national railway operator in Germany, so its website can be used for booking journeys by German express trains; the ICE and IC trains and it doesn't charge booking fees.
It also sells tickets for journeys by direct trains on all international routes from Germany regardless of whether DB is operating the train service.

It also sells an extensive range of end-to-end journeys which involve making connections both within Germany and in neighboring countries, but journeys between Germany and Britain cannot be booked on DB.

A key feature of DB website worth keeping mind is that it offers 1st class ticket purchasers complimentary seat reservations on journeys both within and to/from Germany.
Seat reservations for daytime in both 1st and 2nd class can also be booked separately from tickets.

Two types of ticket have recently been made available;

  1. Cheaper 'Young' tickets which can only be booked by those aged 15-26 on the travel date.
  2. Flexi Plus tickets, which are now the most expensive type of ticket, but they're the only type of 2nd class tickets which DO include a seat reservation.
Happy rail from €17.90

Happy rail Guide

Happy Rail is a Netherlands rail ticket agency which sells tickets for both national and international journeys within a range of countries including Belgium France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland.

HappyRail doesn't charge booking fees in the conventional sense, but if you're not Dutch you can expect to pay additional transaction fees, which will be added to the total cost.
That's because the most common form of online payment used in The Netherlands is 'iDEAL' and HappyRail doesn't charge a transaction fee for 'iDEAL' payments, but only Dutch residents can sign up to 'iDEAL'.
Other forms of payment include Visa debit cards will incur a fee.

Omio from €17.90

Omio Guide

Omio is an online ticket agency which offers tickets for rail journeys in France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Spain.

The three key advantages of using Omio are

  • it offers prices in multiple currencies
  • it usually offers price comparison with other modes of travel including flights and buses
  • when visiting Europe, you can book journeys in multiple countries in one transaction.

The disadvantage of booking with Omio is that it often adds a booking fee to the final price; therefore when it does so without offering a price advantage, SMTJ doesn't tend to offer Omio as a booking option.

Save A Train from €17.90

Save A Train Guide

On this journey

Journey Features

Scenic - NoHigh Speed (partial journey)

Good to Know

On departure from Berlin the train heading to Koln (or Koblenz )will be joined to another train heading to Dusseldorf.
The trains are separated on arrival at Hamm (West).

So check the electronic departure screens on the gleis/platform at Berlin Hbf, so that you're waiting in the right zone for easy boarding into the part of the train heading to Koln/Cologne.

Trains travel at more than 250 km/h on the high speed line between Berlin-Spandau and Wolfsburg.

But aside from that this is an exceptionally uneventful journey, so having something to read or watch with you, is recommended.

Option 2: taking the faster 'Sprinter' services

Travel Information

Final destination: Bonn
These trains all continue on beyond Koln/Cologne

Heading west these 'Sprinter' services will depart from Berlin hbf daily at 05:33, 11:42 and 17:41.

In addition to Berlin Hbf and Berlin Spandau, which are served by all of these ‘Sprinter’ services, the other trains call at various stations in the German capital.
Though what’s particularly noteworthy is that first departure of the day from Berlin is the first ICE service in more than 10 years to call at Berlin Zoologischer Garten station, the main station in West Berlin.

The other two daily departures commence their journeys at Berlin Sudkreuz.

3 x trains per day

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 6 months ahead of the travel date - usually

Reservations:

Book 1st class ticket journey tickets and your seat reservation is included, but they're optional when booking 2nd class tickets, or if you will be travelling with a 1st or 2nd class rail pass.

Though for this comparatively short journey the reservation fees of €4.50 in 2nd class and €5.90 in 1st class are relatively expensive.

Finding Tickets:

When making an online booking, if you want to target these 'Sprinter' services, target the usual departure times of 05:33, 11:41 and 17:41; these trains aren't typically more expensive than the slower, regular ICE trains.

On the DB booking site look for journeys that have
0 in the Chg. column
ICE (and only ICE) in the Products column.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
DB Bahn from €17.90

DB Bahn Guide

DB is the national railway operator in Germany, so its website can be used for booking journeys by German express trains; the ICE and IC trains and it doesn't charge booking fees.
It also sells tickets for journeys by direct trains on all international routes from Germany regardless of whether DB is operating the train service.

It also sells an extensive range of end-to-end journeys which involve making connections both within Germany and in neighboring countries, but journeys between Germany and Britain cannot be booked on DB.

A key feature of DB website worth keeping mind is that it offers 1st class ticket purchasers complimentary seat reservations on journeys both within and to/from Germany.

Seat reservations for daytime in both 1st and 2nd class can also be booked separately from tickets.

Happy rail from €17.90

Happy rail Guide

Happy Rail is a Netherlands rail ticket agency which sells tickets for both national and international journeys within a range of countries including Belgium France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland.

HappyRail doesn't charge booking fees in the conventional sense, but if you're not Dutch you can expect to pay additional transaction fees, which will be added to the total cost.
That's because the most common form of online payment used in The Netherlands is 'iDEAL' and HappyRail doesn't charge a transaction fee for 'iDEAL' payments, but only Dutch residents can sign up to 'iDEAL'.
Other forms of payment include Visa debit cards will incur a fee.

Omio from €17.90

Omio Guide

Omio is an online ticket agency which offers tickets for rail journeys in France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Spain.

The three key advantages of using Omio are

  • it offers prices in multiple currencies
  • it usually offers price comparison with other modes of travel including flights and buses
  • when visiting Europe, you can book journeys in multiple countries in one transaction.

The disadvantage of booking with Omio is that it often adds a booking fee to the final price; therefore when it does so without offering a price advantage, SMTJ doesn't tend to offer Omio as a booking option.

Save A Train from €17.90

Save A Train Guide

On this journey

Journey Features

Scenic - NoHigh Speed (partial journey)

Good to Know

These 'Sprinter' trains take the same route from Berlin to Koln as the regular ICE services between the two cities; they're around 20mins faster because they skip all the intermediate station calls.

Although what is a tad disappointing is that these new ‘Sprinter’ services don’t enhance any international rail travel opportunities.
Frustratingly the 11:41 service from Berlin will arrive in Koln hbf only two minutes after an ICE will have left for Brussels.

Restaurant cars are included on the trains used for these 'Sprinter' services, but they are not available on the regular, slower departures.

Travelling with bicycles:

As ICE 4 trains are used for these services, these are the only trains on the Berlin to Koln/Cologne route on which non-folding bicycles can be taken on board.

Option 3: Travel overnight on an ICE train

Travel Information

If you need to be in Koln/Cologne before 07:00, meaning that the daytime won't be an option, you can take this overnight ICE train.

Final Destination: Koln Hbf

Departing from Berlin:

This train is usually scheduled to depart from the upper level (tief) in Berlin Hbf at 00:22 (after midnight)

This train is also scheduled to depart from Berlin Ostbanhof a and unlike the daytime trains, it also departs from Berlin Zoologischer Garten

1 x train per night

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 6 months ahead of the travel date

This train is usually scheduled to depart from Berlin Hbf at 00:22, so target that time when looking up this journey.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
DB Bahn from €29

DB Bahn Guide

DB is the national railway operator in Germany, so its website can be used for booking journeys by German express trains; the ICE and IC trains and it doesn't charge booking fees.
It also sells tickets for journeys by direct trains on all international routes from Germany regardless of whether DB is operating the train service.

It also sells an extensive range of end-to-end journeys which involve making connections both within Germany and in neighboring countries, but journeys between Germany and Britain cannot be booked on DB.

A key feature of DB website worth keeping mind is that it offers 1st class ticket purchasers complimentary seat reservations on journeys both within and to/from Germany.

Seat reservations for daytime in both 1st and 2nd class can also be booked separately from tickets.

Trainline from €29

Trainline Guide

On this journey

Journey Features

Scenic - NoHigh Speed (partial journey)

Good to Know

Note that this service is provided by a standard ICE train that happens to run overnight.
It does not convey couchette berths or sleeping cabins, so travelling in a seat is the only option.

Option 4: Taking the FlixTrains

Travel Information

Final Destination: Koln or Aachen

These trains commence their journeys at Berlin Sudkreuz and also call at Berlin Spandau

Monday = 1 x train
Thursday = 1 x train
Friday = 2 x trains
Saturday = 1 x train
Sunday = 2 x trains

The timetable

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings usually open: up to 3 months ahead

Something to be aware of when booking tickets for journeys by FlixTrain is that Flix is predominantly a bus operator, so the train travel options for booking tickets are listed alongside the bus travel options; also some of the info around ticket exchanges and FAQs in general can point at the FlixBus website.
To make a it easier to hone in on a train journey it can be a good idea to look up the timetables to check the departure times which suit and then keep these times in mind looking for your rail ticket(s).

Much of the general advice around booking and using rail tickets in Germany doesn't apply to journeys by FlixTrain.
Tickets booked with DB, the German national rail operator, can't be used on FlixTrains, as Flix has used its own terms and conditions and set its own policies for how its tickets can be booked and used.

What are particularly different from DB is the reservation / seat selection on FlixTrain and how tickets can be exchanged (how tickets can be exchanged on FlixTrain also applies to FlixBus).

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
Flix *

On this journey

Journey Features

Scenic - NoHigh Speed (partial journey)

Good to Know

These trains also depart from the lower level (tief level) at Berlin Hbf

They are not high-speed trains so don't use the high speed line between Berlin and Wolfsburg.

Trains travel at more than 250 km/h on the high speed line between Berlin-Spandau and Wolfsburg.

But aside from that this is an exceptionally uneventful journey, so having something to read or watch with you, is recommended.

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