Forget the airport queues, London is set to get direct trains to Cologne by 2030

A black Grand Central train and several red and white LNER Azuma trains park side-by-side at the platforms of London King's Cross Station — (Image credit: Michael Nguyen/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Any fans of sausages, beer, punctuality, and stunning gothic castles, listen up. The good news – or should we say Gute Nachricht – is that you could soon be zooming over to the capital of Christmas markets, as the UK is one step closer to getting direct trains between London and Cologne.

At the end of 2025, it was announced that the trusty Eurostar was unveiling plans to launch the high-speed rail routes between London and Germany. The plans included multiple destinations including Cologne and Frankfurt rather than a focus of the country’s capital Berlin. However, Eurostar just got some competition as a UK start up is also entering the rail race, and could be bringing us a Cologne link up sooner than originally thought.

Gemini Trains has announced plans to run service to Cologne as early as 2030. This isn’t the only ambitious plan the British brand has got in the works, having announced they also want to create a journey direct to Paris which would stop at both Disneyland and Charles de Gaulle airport. Also, they have revealed plans to have routes running to Brussels, Frankfurt and Dusseldorf in the near future.

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Picture shows a ship making its way over the river Rhine and passing under the Hohenzollern bridge in Cologne. In background you can se the city's landmark, the Cologne Cathedral

Whilst international rail travel is traditionally associated with Kings Cross, Gemini would see routes running from Stratford International, widening the current offering of spots you can head to for international travel. Trains would also stop at Ebbsfleet International and Ashford International outside of London – two stops also used by Eurostar in the past.

Gemini has confirmed it plans to use electric trains – at least eight specifically, which will accommodate around 550 passengers at maximum capacity. It also plans to start out with around 11 services running daily, although has hinted it plans to increase this significantly once they’re up and running. To give some context, Eurostar runs roughly 26 services every day.

If you find yourself trying to travel to Cologne via rail at the moment, you’d be looking at around a six hour journey with at least one change. By contrast, the Gemini offering would take around four hours, shaving a good couple of hours off the route. And whilst prices haven’t been officially released yet, Gemini has estimated that the initial one-way fares to Paris will retail at around £59.

So, if you are looking for a more sustainable way of hopping across to Europe without spending ages on the tracks, Gemini’s speedy routes might be one to keep in mind as you’re perusing AirBnBs.

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Hermione Blandford is the Content Editor for Shortlist’s social media which means you can usually find her scrolling through Instagram and calling it work, or stopping random people in the street and accosting them with a mini mic. She has previously worked in food and drink PR for brands including Johnnie Walker, Tanqueray, Gordon's, The Singleton, Lagavulin and Don Julio which means she is a self confessed expert in spicy margaritas and pints, regularly popping into the pub in the name of research.