Deutsche Bahn and Brussels Airlines jointly revealed a new ICE high-speed service that will run twice daily between Cologne Hauptbahnhof and Brussels Airport from 7 September 2026. The partnership was publicised on 26 February and widely picked up by Belgian media on 27 February 2026, as anticipation grew around ticket sales opening later in the spring. Under the agreement the 300 km journey will take around two hours and appear in the Lufthansa Group booking engine with a Brussels Airlines flight number—a so-called ‘air-rail codeshare’. Intermediate stops in Aachen, Liège-Guillemins, Leuven and Antwerp mean the train will also function as a domestic fast link, effectively turning Belgium’s main airport into a rail hub for the German Rhineland. The move responds to mounting political pressure in Belgium to curb short-haul feeder flights and to Europe-wide corporate sustainability mandates. Multinational companies with Cologne- or Düsseldorf-based staff will be able to route travellers directly into long-haul departures at Brussels while cutting scope-3 aviation emissions. Miles & More accrual and protected connections make the product attractive for frequent-flyer programmes and mobility managers. Infrastructure adaptations are modest because the ICE already calls at Brussels-Midi; the project mainly involves timetable slots and platform allocation at Brussels Airport station. Nevertheless Infrabel confirmed it will install additional signalling north of Leuven to maximise capacity. HR teams should note that DB will operate the service under German labour law, meaning any industrial action in Belgium would not automatically cancel the train—welcome redundancy during airport strikes. If passenger numbers match projections (250,000 in the first full year), Brussels Airlines hinted it could replicate the model on routes to Luxembourg and Rotterdam. The announcement therefore signals a wider shift towards rail-air integration in the Benelux region.
Source: Aviation24.be
