Cologne to Brussels Sunday Dec 8th 2019

I am looking for some help. I need to travel from Cologne to Brussels on Sunday Dec 8th. Currently DB are selling tickets for ICE services booked to take 1 hour 52 minutes. Whilst Thalys tickets are not yet on sale there services seem to be either a 3 hour journey with no changes or a 2 hour 40 minute journey with one change. I am wondering if there are engineering works that DB are not yet taking notice of. As I need to catch a Eurostar back to the UK I need to be absolutely certain of timings. I prefer Thalys as I have had a couple of problems with ICE failing and having an extended journey. Any thoughts would be welcome. Have asked the question of the operators and as yet received no reply.

Looking at the DB site, I would say your guess is correct and Thalys are expecting a lengthy diversion via Moenchengladbach or similar. DB rarely have their engineering works uploaded so far in advance.

However this summary of a week-long diversion might give you a clue as to the plan:
https://bauinfos.deutschebahn.com/mobile,nrw,Fernverkehr,ICE_79,5

Basically, trains ex Cologne depart 1 hour earlier and return is 1 hour later. That's consistent with the Thalys info too. If you book a London Special and register for updates you will get an e-mail telling you that your train is running an hour early....

Out of interest how long ago did you experience the ICE failures?

My perception from anecdotal evidence is that although the reliability of the ICE3M sets in international duty was once very poor(leading to circus events like swapping all the passengers between two trains halfway along the route so that the only set with working Belgian safety equipment could head straight back!), this has greatly improved in recent years, plus since newer rolling stock took over the Paris <-> Frankfurt services they now have a greater reserve of sets.

In more recent years when I've heard about delay on the route it's always been due to problems with the high speed line itself(mainly cable thefts).

Anecdotally, they tend to cancel between Frankfurt and Cologne if they are short of BE-compatible units. The need has increased as the service is now 2-hourly.

I have been on just such a unit, and indeed, the connecting ICE I was on warned passengers of this and the conductor told me this was a regular occurrence. One of the Paris - Frankfurt services was replaced by a TGV a bit back, and reliability has shot up.

JonathanP said:

Out of interest how long ago did you experience the ICE failures?

My perception from anecdotal evidence is that although the reliability of the ICE3M sets in international duty was once very poor(leading to circus events like swapping all the passengers between two trains halfway along the route so that the only set with working Belgian safety equipment could head straight back!), this has greatly improved in recent years, plus since newer rolling stock took over the Paris <-> Frankfurt services they now have a greater reserve of sets.

In more recent years when I've heard about delay on the route it's always been due to problems with the high speed line itself(mainly cable thefts).

Click to expand...

I experienced problems as recently as two weeks ago. I missed the 10:25 from Brussels due to ongoing Eurostar problems from the previous day, but I'd allowed for this in my plans. Foolishly, rather than get on the next available train towards the border, I opted to have something to eat and get on the 12:25 ICE. This was cancelled at the last minute with the train in the platform and passengers waiting to board. In retrospect, I'm guessing that the incoming set to form the 14:25 wasn't running and that the train that should have formed the 12:25 would form the 14:25. Passengers were told to get on the next Welkenraedt train and were forwarded by 'bus from Verviers to Aachen. I was now several hours behind schedule, but I'd still allowed enough time to get to my destination. Unfortunately, further problems ensued with the line from Aachen to Cologne blocked due to a 'technical fault'. The 14:25 from Brussels came in packed and even more passengers who had been booked on the 12:25 crammed on. Eventually it departed in the direction of Mönchengladbach. With no end of the blockage in sight, I could no longer reach my destination so found somewhere to stay in Aachen.

The last bit was not related to ICE service reliability, but the earlier bits were. I don't want to alarm the OP, and if you have a through booking it should be honoured, but I've had multiple problems with ICEs on the Brussels-Cologne route over the years such that I always have Plans B and C and, sometimes, D when heading back to London. In fact, on my return, everything went smoothly and I ended up with three hours in Brussels to spare, but ICEs weren't involved.