I am trying to catch the ICE 311 at 12:25hrs out of Brussels-Midi and transferring at Köln Hbf to see the cathedral before getting another ICE to my final destination - Stuttgart Hbf.
Can anyone advise if this train is often cancelled/delayed and is it worth getting the earlier ICE 2 hours before? I am hoping to spend a bit of time in the morning in Brussels before leaving, but as I am catching a NightJet at Stuttgart I cannot be late.
Thank you in advance for your help.
ICE trains to/from Belgium are not the most punctual and reliable but even then your train arrives at 14:15 in Cologne and the best train to Stuttgart is that one : ICE611 15:55 - 18:08. You'll have enough time for sure.
But what is your travel date ? There are some engineering works around Cologne this summer.
I'd recommend making seat reservations for this journey as the train from Brussels has limited capacity and you may have to stand otherwise. It costs 4.90€ for the whole journey on bahn.com
ICE and punctual in one sentence 
But plenty of buffer in Cologne, should be okay. There’s always a way to get there by regional trains too, should the ICEs be in trouble again.
Although it has been quite okay this summer, much less dramatic than last summer.
If you don’t have a reservation, head to carriage 22 in Brussel Zuid/Midi if you want to find free, unreserved places.
Hi, thanks for the reply.
I am travelling on Friday 25th August, and as far as I can tell the Brussels ICE is only omitting Köln Hbf from 9pm that day. In case it does not stop, I can just change at Frankfurt Airport for Stuttgart right?
Also thank you for the suggestion, I will probably book a reservation from DB.
Yes trains run as normal that day. If needed you could also change at Frankfurt Airport yeah but the train really shouldn't omit a stop, in any case not Cologne.
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