How to take a rail journey from Bruxelles/Brussels to Berlin

There are no direct daytime trains between Bruxelles/Brussels and Berlin but the simplest journey options involve only 1 x change of train at Köln Hbf station.

Making this connection in Köln / Cologne is not absolutely guaranteed, but a typical transfer between trains is around 33mins, which should ensure a stress-free connection.

And in the unlikely event of the train from Bruxelles/Brussels having a delayed arrival in Köln / Cologne particularly, tickets will be valid on the next train on to Berlin - if you have made reservations on the train on to Berlin, they can be transferred to the next departure at the Reisezentrum travel centre.

Between Bruxelles and Koln/Cologne:

ICE and Eurostar (formerly Thalys) trains share the service of direct trains between Bruxelles and Koln/Cologne; only ICE trains are used for the direct trains on to Berlin from Köln / Cologne.
This doesn't particularly affect the journey time, or connections, but it matters when booking tickets.
B-Europe and sells tickets for the end-to-end journeys which involve taking the Eurostar (formerly Thalys) + ICE trains, but other ticket agents including DB, Trainline and Rail Europe only sell tickets for taking a combination of 2 x ICE trains.

Departing from Bruxelles:

The ICE trains also depart from Bruxelles-Nord station, but the Eurostar Thalys trains do not.

Neither the ICE or Eurostar (formerly Thalys) trains call at Bruxelles-Central station - the quickest option for a Bruxelles-Central to Berlin journey is to connect at Bruxelles-Nord .

At Bruxelles Midi/Zuid station you will usually have to pass through security checks before boarding these trains and queues can build up at busy times.
The security checks are at the entrance to platforms/tracks/voies 3 -6 and these ICE and Eurostar (formerly Thalys) trains to Koln are usually scheduled to depart from this part of the station.
But check the departure screens before heading for the security checks, these trains can occasionally be scheduled to leave from platforms/tracks/voies 7 or 8.

Arriving in Berlin:

If your final destination is in West Berlin, the fastest option is usually to leave these trains at Berlin-Spandau and connect there into S-Bahn commuter trains or Regio trains.

The station in the heart of West Berlin is Zoologischer-Garten, but these ICE trains do not call there.

If your final destination is to the north of the city centre, then it's likely that your best option is to take this train to Berlin-Gesundbrunnen station.

Check your onward connections in Berlin on this public transport map.

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.
It can also be worth comparing the prices across the agents, particularly if you want to take a specific trains, as there can be variations in price.

When travelling from Bruxelles/Brussels to Berlin by train, some journey options involve taking an ICE train on the first stage of the journey between Bruxelles and Koln/Cologne, while others involve taking a Eurostar (formerly Thalys) train between these two cities.
This impacts on booking tickets.

Taking 2 x ICE trains:

All of the tickets agents sell the journey options which involve taking this combination of trains.

Online bookings open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date
This booking period tends to be shorter when looking up journeys between mid August and mid October.

Three types of tickets are always available: Sparpreis Europa and Super Sparpreis Europa and Flexpreis Europa.

A key difference between these types of tickets is refunds:

• Super Sparpreis tickets are cheapest, but they can't be refunded at all.
• Sparpreis tickets can be refunded for a fee, but the refund will be in the form of travel vouchers to be used for alternative / future journeys.
• Flexpreis tickets can be refunded at no additional charge.

The other key difference is that both types of Sparpreis tickets are only valid on the specific departures selected when booking, but the Flexpreis tickets live up to their name, as they can be used on any departure on your travel date.

Note that none of the tickets can be exchanged to a different departure.
There's no need for this to be available for Flexpreis tickets, as they aren't train departure specific.
If you book a Sparpreis ticket and want to travel by a different departure you can refund it and then use the travel voucher towards the cost of the new booking.
Super Sparpreis tickets can't be exchanged or refunded.

The Sparpreis and Flexpreis tickets also include 'City tickets' for Berlin which can be used on public transport between locations in the city centre and Berlin hbf.

Seat reservations:
Seat reservations are optional on the ICE trains on this route - take note if you will be using a rail pass.
They cost €4.90 when travelling in 2nd Class and €5.90 when travelling in 1st class and the fees will cover both ICE trains
Specific seats can be selected from seating plans - you don't have to accept the seat(s) that you will be automatically offered.

They are included within the cost of booking 1st class Flexpreis Europa tickets and both 1st and 2nd class Flexpreis Plus Europa tickets.
Though despite seats being automatically assigned when booking these three types of ticket - and these tickets being valid on any departure, you will need to pay to re-book the reservations, if you subsequently decide to travel on an alternative train.
So because you won't save by booking these types of tickets in advance, it can be a good idea to wait until you are sure when you will want to travel.

When booking Super Sparpreis Europa, Sparpreis Europa and 2nd class Flexpreis Europa tickets, you have the option of purchasing seat reservations later.
It can be worth re-looking up a journey a week or two ahead of travel, because the DB website will indicate how busy a departure will be.
Although if you do book your reservations later you will then have to pay for separate reservations per train.

Booking on the DB website:
If you can be flexible with your departure time use the 'best prices' tool - at the top right on the list of journey options.

Taking a Eurostar (formerly Thalys) train +an ICE train:

Bookings open: 4 months ahead of the travel date (usually)

B-Europe and Save A Train are seemingly the only ticket agents which sell this combination of trains.
Note that tickets can't be booked on the Eurostar website.

Eurostar (formerly Thalys) ticket terms summary:
'Tickets for travel in Standard and Comfort Class can be can exchanged without paying an exchange fee, as long as tickets are exchanged 7 days or more before the departure time of their individual journey.
Though if the new ticket option is more expensive the difference in price will need to be paid, but if it is cheaper the price difference won't be refunded.
But make the exchange within 7 days of the individual journey and an admin fee of €15 will need to be paid, along with the price difference
Though tickets can be refunded up until 7 days before departure, but are non refundable in the 7 days before departure.
So note that the cheaper tickets to travel by the Thalys trains can be refunded (up until 7 days), but the cheaper tickets for the ICE trains can't.
Tickets for travel in Premium Class are exchangeable without payment of an admin fee up to the departure time, but price difference between the old and new tickets will need to be paid.
Premium Class tickets can up refunded until one hour after the departure time'.

Seat Reservations:
Your seats will automatically be reserved on the Eurostar (formerly Thalys) trains, but seat reservations on the ICE trains are optional and are therefore an additional cost - unless you book the most expensive type of ticket.

Using rail passes:

If you will be travelling from Bruxelles to Berlin with a 1st or 2nd class rail pass, target the ICE trains.

You won't have to pay any rail pass reservation fees to travel by those trains; though the optional fees are €5.90 in 1st class and €.4.90 in
In contrast the rail pass reservation fees for the Thalys trains will be €30 in 1st class and €20 in 2nd class.

Final Destination Berlin Hbf

From December 13th the train will typically be departing Bruxelles on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday evenings evenings only
It will usually be scheduled to leave from Midi / Zuid station shortly after 19:00.

The journey experience is dependent on the type of accommodation you choose to travel by on the train, click on the Train details to discover more about the available options.

The train will also call at: Liege and Erfurt and Halle (Saale)

Departing from Brussels / Bruxelles:

The train also calls at: Bruxelles-Nord

The quickest journey from Brussels city centre will be to take one of the frequent trains from Bruxelles-Cenral station to Bruxelles-Nord in order to join this train when it calls there.
As all accommodation on this train has to be reserved, you can be sure that your booked place will be available if you opt to board at Bruxelles-Nord station.

Arriving in Berlin

The train will be typically scheduled to arrive into Berlin Hbf shortly before 08:30 - due to the length of the journey the schedule often has to altered due to works on the lines.

These trains will call at Berlin-Südkreuz before they arrive at Berlin's main station, Berlin hbf.

It's worth checking the lcoation of your final destination in Berlin - there are direct S-Bahn trains from Sudkreuz to FriedrichstraBe and locations to the east and west of the city centre.

Check your onward connections in Berlin on this public transport map.

Book early and save: Yes

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

The train conveys:

• Compartment Seats (Sitzwagen)
• Couchettes (Liegewagen); 4 berths AND 6 berthsm
• Standard sleeping cars (Schlafwagen) with 3 bed, 2 bed and 1 cabins
• Deluxe sleeping cars with showers (Schlafwagen) with 3 bed, 2 bed and 1 cabins

The first price you will see on the OBB ticketing site will be for the compartment seats.

Click the train details below for more info including the rail pass reservation fees:

Rail pass users must reserve before boarding these trains,

You can now book rail pass reservations without paying booking fees on the OBB website (OBB operates these trains).Though the process for doing so isn't particularly obvious, hence this step-by-step guide.

Final Destination: Berlin Hbf

This train also calls at Antwerpen Centraal - typically departs at 20:01

European Sleeper is a new train operating company with a mission to provide links between cities which previously had no direct train connection.
It's trains aren't brand new, though they have been refreshed, but if you:

• will want to travel direct by train between the Belgian and German capitals;
• need a morning an arrival in Berlin;
• won't need to depart Bruxelles on Tuesdays or Thursdays or Saturdays
  then this service provides a relatively new option for the journey by train from Bruxelles / Brussels to Berlin.

The train is typically scheduled to depart from Midi / Zuid station in Bruxelles/Brussel at 19:22.
Connecting trains typically depart from London St Pancras at 15:04 and from Paris Gare Du Nord at 17:25

The arrival time in Berlin is scheduled to be at 06:48.
Typical connections which should be available are:

• at 07:34 to Nurnberg and Munchen/Munich
• at 09:01 to Dresden*, Praha/Prague*, Bratislava and Budapest
• at 09:51 to Poznan and Warszawa
  *= there is also a departure to Dresden and Praha/Prague at 07:01, but making this connection in time is not guaranteed

Book early and save: Yes
Online Bookings Usually Open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date

The ticketing options depend on the type of accommodation you wish to travel by on the train.
The seats are straightforward, the ticket(s) will include a reservation.

In the couchettes you can either book a place; or solo travellers can pay more and book the entire compartment in order to have sole occupancy.
If you will be travelling in groups of 4 or 6 people, you will be the only occupants of the compartment.
But if you will be travelling in a group of 5, the only method to ensure you won't be sharing the compartment with somebody else, is to book six tickets.
Similarly if you will be travelling in a group of 3 and don't want to share a four person compartment with anybody else, you will need to book four tickets.
Female only couchette compartments are available.

The sleeping cabins are priced according to how many people will be occupying them during the journey.
Solo travellers can either:

• Book a bed in a triple cabin and accept that you may share it with up to two other people (cheapest).
• Book a bed in a double cabin, accepting that you may be sharing it with another person.
• Book a single cabin, to ensure privacy (most expensive).

Pairs of travellers, who are happy to share a cabin, can either:

• Book two beds in a triple cabin, accepting that you may be sharing it with another person.
• Book a double cabin.

Groups of 3 travellers will have sole occupancy of a triple cabin, but groups of four or more will need to split the accommodation to whichever suits them; 2 x double cabins, or 1 x triple + 1 x single etc