€38*
3:09
3 months in advance
Getting from Cologne to Lille is easy! On this train journey, you just need to change trains once, at Brussels (Midi/Zuid) station, after your arrival there from Cologne.
This journey of over 300 km from Germany to France takes just over 3 hours on high-speed trains. And as an added bonus, you’ll arrive in the city centre!
The first leg of your journey will take you from the central station in Cologne (Köln Hbf) to Brussels (Midi/Zuid) station. This service runs several times a day with high-speed Eurostar or ICE trains, and takes just 1 hour 47 minutes.
At Brussels (Midi/Zuid) station, board the Eurostar or TGV INOUI trains to Lille. All you have to do is change platforms after your arrival from Cologne. Very easy!
There are around 8 direct trains from Brussels to Lille on weekdays. They’ll take you to Lille Europe train station in around 35 minutes. One of 2 major railway stations in the city, Lille Europe is an international hub for Eurostar and TGV INOUI so if your journey’s taking you further into France, this is the ideal starting point to do so.
Due to an incident on the German rail network on 22 November, the rail traffic between Aachen and Cologne will be disrupted until Monday 23 December.
Until 23 December, most ICE trains on the Brussels-Cologne-Frankfurt connection will only operate between Brussels-Midi and Aachen Hbf. Between Aachen and Cologne, passengers can use Deutsche Bahn's regional RE1 and RE9 services, resulting in longer journey times.
Only the last two ICE trains of the day will operate all the way between Brussels and Frankfurt (ICE 317 and 19 from Brussels to Frankfurt and ICE 12 and 10 from Frankfurt to Brussels). However, they are being diverted via Rheydt, taking 90 to 100 minutes of extra journey time.