Taking the train from Cologne / Köln / Koeln to Amsterdam is usually blissfully simple, as the cities are usually linked every other hour by swish ICE trains.
Though what's a tad odd about this route is that the ICEs are high speed trains, but they only have the opportunity to travel at more than 270 kmh south of Köln/Cologne.
On this route to The Netherlands there are no high speed lines for them to whizz along.
Final Destination: Amsterdam Centraal/CS
All trains also call at: Dusseldorf; Arnhem connect for Nijmegen, and Utrecht connect for Den Haag and Rotterdam.
Mon - Fri 7 x trains per day
Sat = 5 x trains
Sun = 6 x trains
The usual final departure of the day does not operate on Saturdays.
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings usually open: 6 months ahead of the travel date
When making an online booking, check that you’re looking at booking info for the direct trains.
On the DB booking site look for journeys that have:
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 tickets.
Use the earlier/later buttons to search for the cheapest fares.
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.
Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
---|---|---|
DB | from €19.90 | |
NS Intl | from €20 | |
Happy rail | from €19.90 | |
Save A Train | from €19.90 | |
Trainline | from €19.90 |
The trains on this route are particularly susceptible to alteration due to works on the lines.
On multiple dates construction work is being carried out in the Frankfurt area and when it is occurring these trains will be commencing their journeys in the station at Frankfurt Flugfahen / Airport.
There is no high speed line between Koln and Amsterdam, the rather sleek ICE 3 trains are used on this route because they will have travelled on Germany's fastest high speed line on their way TO Koln.
The trains won't in fact won't travel exceptionally fast on this route.
It's perhaps not a huge surprise to discover that this isn't a particularly scenic journey, the train will travel through a string of industrial cities and towns in Germany, before heading for the border.
Between Utrecht and the suburbs of Amsterdam, there will be a canal on the right hand side of the train, which will give the final part of the journey a Dutch aura.
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This is one of more than 100 train travel guides available on ShowMeTheJourney, which will make it easier to take the train journeys you want or need to make. As always, all images were captured on trips taken by ShowMeTheJourney.