Deutsche Bahn is pretty confident that it can compete with short-haul business air routes from the UK, so ABTN travelled to Cologne from London (via Brussels), to see how it works in practice.
If possessing an already-reserved ticket, there are ample machines by check-in and a quick tap of the reservation code issues a ticket to use through a dedicated Business Premier lane, before immigration and security checks.
Departing from London in July with Eurostar generally means that the journey is going to be a busy one, so having a business class ticket allows the traveller to escape the madding crowds and head for the sanctuary of the Business Premier lounge.
Entering down a runway-type lit entrance, a quick ticket check by staff and the business person can relax in a classy, well-appointed lounge, with ample seating. Snacks are on the parsimonious and meagre side however, just a few nibbles, although there are good tea and coffee facilities, as well as copious and free, newspapers and magazines.
There doesn”t appear to be a dedicated business entrance to the train from the lounge, although after queuing in the very busy departures area, those holding business tickets are ushered up a separate escalator to take seats on the Brussels-bound service.
Arranged in a 1x1 and 2x2 configuration, the Business Premier carriage is roomy and the seats wide and very comfortable. Meandering out of London ” the new high speed connection from St Pancras can”t come soon enough - the train seems to take an age to pick up speed and it is almost an hour before Ashford International in Kent is reached.
Current journey time to Brussels is 2h31min, but this will be slashed to 1h51min when St Pancras opens its doors in November. London-Paris will also see a reduction in journey time from just under 3h to 2h15min.
Staff soon come round to take complementary food orders, although on this particular day, there was no menu and the table wasn”t laid for service, unlike Virgin Trains, who have tablecloths, napkins and crockery ready for use.
The food however, is of good quality, with several opportunities to order free drinks or food, while the simple provision of heavy, metal cutlery makes a genuine difference to the bland plastic used by so many airlines.
Brussels takes just 2hr30min but with a two hour connecting wait to Deutsche Bahn”s InterCity Express (ICE) service to Cologne, a lounge is just what the doctor ordered.
Except not at weekends. That comes as quite a surprise, especially after the oasis at London and it has to be said, Brussels Midi is not a particularly pleasant place to while away the time.
Dark, dingy, underground, with no natural light, it feels an intimidating, vast place, punctuated with neon light and creating an uneasy, tense atmosphere and a world away from Waterloo”s glittering glass and steel construction.
However, once on board the ICE train, the seating, again configured 1x1 and 2x2 in First Class, provided a welcome relief. It is however, completely unclear as to what is provided for business class passengers, as no announcements are made regarding food and drink ” a menu has to be asked for - and whether travellers have to pay for refreshments ” they do.
There are also seat-back video screens but what ones there are that work, are fuzzy and unclear and no headphones are offered. The seats are comfortable enough, but nowhere near the same quality as Eurostar.
One great innovation however, is that in the forward smoking carriage ” they have them ” passengers can see straight into the driver”s cockpit and enjoy a bird”s eye view of the ” relatively ” fast journey of 2h23min.
The uncertainty surrounding whether or not food is available, means that the on-board purser makes frequent journeys up and down the carriages, ascertaining passengers” needs, but the journey time passes pleasantly enough, stopping at Liege and Aachen. Note however, that payment for food using credit cards has to be made at the restaurant car and not at the seat.
These days, what every business traveller wants is connectivity and DB provides with this on-board hot spots, although as with any mobile phone connection, it depends on signal strength ” this can be patchy on the Brussels-Cologne route.
However, there is one massive attraction that perhaps makes up for the lack of complementary victuals ” the price. Eurostar Business Premier comes in at a hefty ”215 from London to Brussels, compared to the phenomenally good value of DB”s First Class fare of ”46 from Brussels to Cologne.
Both journeys take roughly the same time and while Eurostar is undeniably the classier service, the vast difference in price means that DB is clearly highly competitive.
But with the ”20m Railteam concept ” linking several European train networks together ” not due to go live until 2009 ” passengers are currently obliged to book two separate tickets through Eurostar and DB, unless using a separate, private broker.
Germany has an extensive rail network ” this is a country that takes its train travel very seriously ” and onward connections from Cologne are plentiful and good value.
DB also has arrangements with TAP Portugal, American Airlines, ANA and China Airlines that uses their flight numbers to book ICE onward travel to Frankfurt, as well as its Rail&Fly scheme for journeys across the whole DB network.
And for those wishing to connect to a Lufthansa flight in Frankfurt, but who are in Cologne or Stuttgart, DB provides its AIRail Service. Passengers check in at the Lufthansa desk at either Cologne or Stuttgart, hand over luggage, receive a boarding card and take the ICE train to Frankfurt.
Train times to Frankfurt from Cologne and Stuttgart are 57min and 71min respectively and bags can then be picked up in the destination airport.