Berlin to London by train

How to take a thrilling high speed rail journey from Berlin to London

If you can leave Berlin on a Tuesday, a Thursday, or a Sunday, you can now choose between travelling by day on high speed trains, or travel overnight to Belgium and make just one connection in Bruxelles.
Tough if you will be departing on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, you can only travel on the day trains.

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Routes

Option 1: travelling by day

Travel Information

When looking up a Berlin to London train journey, it's likely that you will also see options for travelling an alternative route via Mannheim or Frankfurt and Paris, particularly on Saturdays.

Though the key advantage of taking this route via Bruxelles is that it avoids the need to make a transfer between stations in Paris, which is why is has been singled out.
Though the connecting time between trains in Koln hbf will be around 35mins, but these connections cannot be guaranteed.

On this journey option the connecting time in Bruxelles-Midi/Zuid station between the arrival of the ICE train and departure of the Eurostar trains will be from around 1hr 10 mins - 1hr 20 mins, the end-to-end journey times of more than 11hrs to make the connection in Bruxelles.
The transfer of 1hr 10 mins allow sufficient time to check-in for the Eurostar even if the ICE train from Koln/Cologne arrives in Bruxelles/Brussels more than 45 mins late.
This guide has more information re: making the connection into the Eurostar train at Bruxellles-Midi station.

Monday to Friday: 5 x connections per day
Saturday: 3 x connections
Sunday: 4 x connections

Change trains in: Koln/Cologne and Bruxelles/Brussels

The longer end-to-end journey times allow an additional hour to make the connections in Bruxeles

Tickets

Book Early And Save: Yes

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

Eurostar does not sell tickets for this journey.

Selecting a combination of trains:

The train service between Koln/Cologne and Bruxelles is provided by both ICE trains, operated by the German national operator DB, and by Thalys trains; and the journey options which involve taking a Thalys trains on this part of the route tend to be more expensive.

Seat Reservations:

The tickets will be train specific, but seat reservations are OPTIONAL on both the ICE train between Berlin and Koln/Cologne AND the ICE train between Koln/Cologne and Bruxelles/Brussel.

The reservation fee is 2nd class = €4, 1st class = €5.30; but the reservation charges cover BOTH of the ICE trains on this journey.
When making a booking with DB or Trainline, you will have to add the reservations.

In contrast seat reservations are mandatory on the Thalys trains, so the ticket prices on all of the agents automatically include this reservation fee,

Reservations are also compulsory on the Eurostar and this is included when booking point2point journey tickets; your Eurostar seats will be automatically assigned.

The alternative route:

When looking up the rail journey from Berlin to London, you will also see options for travelling an alternative route via Mannheim or Frankfurt and Paris.
This route is slower and more awkward, due to the need to make a transfer between stations in Paris, but it is typically cheaper.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
Trainline *

Trainline Guide

DB *

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.
B-Europe *

B-Europe Guide

B-Europe is the website provided by Belgium's national railway operator for the sale of international rail journeys from and to Belgium.
Therefore tickets can be booked for the following international train services to/from Belgium

  • Eurostar
  • IC trains to France, Luxembourg and The Netherlands
  • ICE trains to Germany
  • Thalys trains to Germany, The Netherlands and Paris
  • TGV trains to destination in France other than Paris
    B-Europe offers a 'Best Fares' policy for journey by these trains.

It also sells international end-to-end journeys solely by train, with connections outside of Belgium, if you will be heading to popular destinations in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Italy.

Users of Eurail and InterRail passes can also book seat reservations on the Eurostar and Thalys services without paying booking fees.

Journey Features

Scenic - NoHigh Speed (partial journey)

Good to Know

Departing From Berlin:

Final Destination: Koln Hbf/Dusseldorf Hbf or Koblenz Hbf

These trains commence their journey at Berlin Gesunbrunnen station which is to the north of the city centre.
They also usually depart from the lower level (tief) in Berlin Hbf.

f your journey is commencing in West Berlin, the quickest option is to take a Regio or S-Bahn 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.

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.

Journey Features

Scenic - NoHigh Speed (partial journey)

Good to Know

Final Destination: BruxellesMidi/Brussel Zuid

All trains also call at:  Aachen

Between Koln and Aachen Between Koln and Aachen
Between Aachen and Liege Between Aachen and Liege
Between Liege and Brussels Between Liege and Brussels

For virtually the entire train journey from Koln to Bruxelles the trains, will either be travelling at up to 290 km/h on purpose built high speed lines, or up to 200km/h on section of railway, that has been re-engineered to allow trains to travel faster.

It is a journey of six distinct phases:

  1. Between Koln and Aachen the trains travel at up to 200 km/h on a re-engineered stretch of railway.
  2. Then for most of the the 25 min journey between Aachen and Liege the train will travel at up to 290 km/h on a high speed line; this is also the most scenic part of the trip.
  3. Then for around five minutes after departure from Liege, the train will travel fairly slowly on a route which ascends from the city.
  4. Next up is the HS2 Belgian high speed route as far as Leuven, in theory the ICE and Thalys trains can accelerate back up to around 290 km/h on this part of the trip.
  5. From Leuven to just north of Brussel-Nord station the maximum speed is 200 km/h.
  6. For most of the journey between Brussel-Nord and Brussel-Zuid the railway crosses the city centre in a tunnel.

Journey Features

High Speed (total journey)

Good to Know

Most of the departures between Bruxelles/Brussels and London will be by the e320 trains, but the e300 trains are still used on some departures (they are to be re-introduced in 2022).

Our guide to taking the Eurostar from Bruxelles/Brussels has more information including details of check-in and how to connect into the Eurostar from other train services.

Our guide to arriving by Eurostar in London is here.on).

A typical view from the high speed line between Lille and The Channel Tunnel A typical view from the high speed line between Lille and The Channel Tunnel
Crossing The River Medway Crossing The River Medway
The Queen Elizabeth II road bridge seem from the left of the train The Queen Elizabeth II road bridge seem from the left of the train

It's not a scenic journey, but it is a journey with distinct phases and highlights:

1: There is little to see from the high speed lines in Belgium and France.

2: The train will slow down as it approaches The Channel Tunnel.

Announcements are no longer made that the train is about to enter the tunnel.

The journey through the tunnel will take around 22 mins.

3: As the train nears Ebbsfleet International station, comes the scenic highlight of the journey - the crossing of the River Medway on a high bridge.

4: After Ebbsfleet International (which can only be seen from the right) the train will enter a tunnel under the River Thames.

As the train exits this tunnel, from the left, the Queen Elizabeth II road bridge can be seen.

5: For most of the final 8 -10 mins of the journey the trains use tunnels to enter London (Stratford International station is located between the tunnels).

Option 2: travelling overnight

Travel Information

European Sleeper is a new train operating company with a mission to provide overnight trains on new routes across Europe
It's trains aren't brand new, though they have been refreshed, but if you:

  • will want to make this journey by making only one connection
  • need a morning arrival in London
  • won't need to depart Berlin on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday or Saturday.
    then this service provides a new option for the journey by train from Berlin to London

The train departs on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday

The train from Berlin will be heading to Bruxelles-Midi station, but it is due to arrive there only 30 mins before the departure of the Eurostar to London - which will have traveled from Amsterdam.
And the train from Berlin will be scheduled to arrive in Amsterdam around 1hr 15mins before the departure of that same Eurostar to London.
So making the connection in Amsterdam instead of Bruxelles allow more contingency time, in the event of a delay, but with the same arrival time into London.

Tickets

Online bookings open from up to 6 months ahead

You will need to book each journey separately; the details of how to do this are included on each of the respective journey guides:

Berlin to Amsterdam

Amsterdam to London

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
European Sleeper Train *
Eurostar *

Eurostar Guide

In addition to direct journeys by Eurostar trains, the Eurostar website also sells

  • 'Any station in Belgium' tickets; the key feature of these tickets is that they live up to their name, so how distant your Belgian destination is and the journey time doesn't impact on the ticket price.
  • Journeys to SOME major cities in France not served directly by Eurostar– including Avignon, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Nice, Nantes and Rennes.
  • Journeys to destinations in Germany that are served by direct ICE and Thalys trains from Bruxelles, including these cities; Aachen, Cologne/Koeln, Dusseldorf and Frankfurt (Main).

Eurostar also sells seat reservations to users of Eurail and InterRail passes without booking fees.

Journey Features

Night

Good to Know

The train is typically scheduled to depart from Berlin Hbf at 22:56
Connecting trains typically depart from:

  • Dresden Hbf at 19:55
  • Munchen Hbf at 17:54
  • Poznan Glowny at 19:26
  • Praha hln at 17:28
  • Wien Hbf at 13:10
  • Warszawa Centralna at 16:32

Journey Features

High Speed (total journey)

Good to Know

Final Destination: London St. Pancras International

Note that London is in a different time zone to mainland Europe, it is one hour behind; so when looking at a timetable the journey will look as though it's an hour shorter.

Boarding the Eurostar in Amsterdam:

Here is Eurostar's guide to departing by these trains from Amsterdam Centraal.

The key things to know are:

  • The train will depart from spoor (platform/track) 15b, which is at the far end of the station from the main entrance.
  • On the other side of check-in you will wait for boarding to commence in the departure lounge, it houses seating areas, plugs, re-charge points and vending machines for drinks and snacks.
  • Particularly worth knowing is that if you will be travelling with Standard or Standard Premier tickets, is that Eurostar is currently stating that check-in will close 45 mins before departure; and for Business Premier ticket holders it will close 30 mins before
    No other train service from Amsterdam has these departure restrictions, so remember that you will need to be at Amsterdam Centraal ahead of the departure time; Eurostar's recommendation is to be at the departure area 60-90mins ahead of departure if you have Standard or Standard Premier tickets; and 45mins prior to departure if you have Business Premier tickets.

This will allow time for an easy transfer to platform/track 15b .
Though if you're at the station particularly early, an option is to while away the time in the bars/cafés in the main station building; and then to make your way over to platform/track 15b at the suggested ti

Look out for the windmills between Schiphol and Rotterdam Look out for the windmills between Schiphol and Rotterdam
A typical view of the landscape west of Lille A typical view of the landscape west of Lille
Crossing the Medway Viaduct between Ashford and Ebbsfleet Crossing the Medway Viaduct between Ashford and Ebbsfleet
The QE II Bridge can be seen on the left after the train has travelled under the River Thames The QE II Bridge can be seen on the left after the train has travelled under the River Thames

It's not a particularly scenic ride, but it is a fascinating journey through three countries with eight distinct phases and highlights:

1: Between Schiphol and Antwerpen the train will travel on high speed lines; look out for the windmills north of Rotterdam and the crossing of the Rhine estuary north of Antwerpen.

2: The train will travel on ordinary lines between Antwerpen and Bruxelles (this fairly short 25 min section of the route is the only part of the route, which isn't on a high speed line)

3: On departure from Bruxelles the best views over the city are on the left of the train.

4: There is little to see from the high speed lines in between Bruxelles and the tunnel.

5: The train will slow down as it approaches The Channel Tunnel.
Announcements are no longer made that the train is about to enter the tunnel.
The journey through the tunnel will take around 22 mins.

6: As the train nears Ebbsfleet International station, comes the scenic highlight of the journey; the crossing of the River Medway on a high bridge.

7: After Ebbsfleet International (which can only be seen from the right) the train will enter a tunnel under the River Thames.
As the train exits this tunnel, from the left, the Queen Elizabeth II road bridge can be seen.

8: For most of the final 8 -10 mins of the journey the trains use tunnels to enter London (Stratford International station is located between the tunnels).

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