A new free online tool will allow users to draw night train routes across Europe and immediately see their estimated costs and CO2 savings. The public beta launches on 22 September 2026, the opening day of InnoTrans in Berlin.
Europeans will soon be able to have a say in what the continent’s night train network could look like in 2032. Back-on-Track Europe is launching an online modelling tool that allows anyone to design night train routes on a map of the European rail network and see how much each proposed connection could cost and how much CO2 it could save.
The free, open-source Night Train Modeling Tool will enter public beta on 22 September, coinciding with the start of InnoTrans, the major international rail industry trade fair in Berlin.
Back-on-Track, a European campaign advocating the expansion of night trains, wants to use the designs submitted by users as the basis for a proposed European night train network for 2032. The resulting study will be presented to the European Commission‘s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE) and national transport authorities.
The organisation aims to double the number of night train connections in Europe from around 150 today to 300 by 2032, while tripling the number of passengers travelling by night train. According to Back-on-Track, an ambitious European night train network could reduce European Union greenhouse gas emissions by around 3%.
“The tracks exist and the demand exists. 70% of Europeans are ready to swap the plane for a night train. What is missing is a good network design and the political will to build it. Our tool aims to show which routes Europe should add,” says Juri Maier, chairperson of Back-on-Track.
Design your own night train network
The tool turns network planning into an interactive exercise. Users can draw proposed routes directly onto a map of Europe’s railway network. The system then generates timetables and tests different train compositions, providing estimates for operating costs, the public funding required and the CO2 emissions that could be avoided.
Users can also compare their proposals under different scenarios and share their designs with other participants.
The project was developed by ten Back-on-Track volunteers from across Europe. It is released under a GPL open-source licence, allowing users to examine the data, calculations and modelling methods behind the results.
“Crowdsourcing is the key. The knowledge for this network does not sit in one office. Travellers know which connections Europe is missing. Operators and infrastructure experts carry knowledge that no consultancy could bring together alone. And a proposal the community built is one the community will defend,” says David Wedekind, Back-on-Track volunteer and project lead.
The public beta is the first stage of a five-step process. Back-on-Track will initially collect route proposals from users before gathering feedback and selecting the strongest connections to form the backbone of the proposed 2032 network.
A final study, including a public interactive map, will then be produced. Contributors will be credited, while further features are planned for the tool during 2026, including the planned 2032 rail network, policy simulations and full-network analysis.
The Night Train Modeling Tool will be free and open to everyone from 22 September at targetnetwork.back-on-track.eu.
More on cross-border trains
- Italo interested in running trains to / in Belgium and the Netherlands, after conquering Germany.
- YES TO THE NIGHT TRAIN | A plea for reclining seats and six-berth compartments.
- Back On Track Belgium salutes return of Brussels–Milan night train as “a real feat”.
- Antwerp now linked to Cologne in Germany with direct Deutsche Bahn ICE via Brussels Airport.
- Antwerp-Central sees increase in international train travel.
- Europe’s night-train revival: a real comeback or a false dawn?.
- Dutch and Belgian passenger advocates call for swift reopening of Hamont-Weert railway.
- European Sleeper plans Brussels – Antwerp – Malmö night train service for 2028.
- ‘New’ Amsterdam-Hamburg ICE service is actually a diversion of Berlin trains.
- RAIL IN EUROPE | Off-the-shelf trains to speed up delivery and cut costs.
- GoVolta unveils ambitious expansion with new services to Cologne, Luxembourg, Strasbourg, plus high-speed trains to Paris.
- PASSENGER PACKAGE | European Rail Passengers’ Federation and Back-on-Track Europe welcome EU rail reforms but call for stronger cross-border rights.
- European Sleeper, Nightjet and OUIGO Train Classique services through Belgium to change from September 2026.
- Catalonia and Andorra launch studies for first cross-border Tramvalira project.
- Arriva expands Paris train ambitions with extra The Hague to Belgium connections.
- EUROSTAR | From Brussels to London in Eurostar Plus (2026).
- NMBS / SNCB: International train travel continues to grow in popularity with Belgian holidaymakers.
- Political push in the Netherlands for Eindhoven to Brussels EuroCity.
- TGV inOui Brussels – Strasbourg – Basel from July 2027.
- Deutsche Bahn Cologne – Ostend ICE caters to 700,000 Belgian Coast-loving tourists from Germany.
- RAIL BALTICA | Tallinn – Valga / Valka – Riga – Vilnius by train.
- SPAIN | Renfe suspends Paris high-speed project amid certification deadlock.
- Finland and Sweden to be linked by rail this summer.
- European Parliament rubberstamps new regulation to upgrade cross-border railway capacity coordination.
- GoVolta launches daily Amsterdam to Paris day train via Antwerp and Ghent, with tickets from €19.
- EUROPEAN SLEEPER | Brussels to Milan night train now via Antwerp, Breda and Eindhoven instead of Liège and Aachen.
- ÖBB NIGHTJET | New generation carriages to debut on Amsterdam–Zurich route in December 2026.
- 8.7 billion rail trips in Europe in 2024 as Switzerland leads and Belgium’s data remain unavailable.
- Deutsche Bahn, DSB and Vy present direct Berlin to Oslo route, from summer 2028.
- European Rail Passengers Union: EU must act now to make cross-border rail travel seamless, fair, and green: passengers demand guaranteed rights and simpler ticketing.
- European Sleeper sets out vision for 40-route night train network across Europe, including London.
- RAIL BALTICA | Elron, Vivi, and LTG Link launch joint tender for regional trains.
- Trenitalia / FS Group advances Paris hub to power European high-speed expansion, looking at Belgium and the Netherlands in the long term.
- Train Charter Services replaces Keolis as operator for GoVolta trains.
- Trenitalia unveils €2 billion investment plan and orders 74 new Frecciarossa high-speed trains.
- Belgium and the Netherlands work on Brussels to Eindhoven direct train, possibly via Antwerp.
- Snälltåget to run Stockholm – Malmö – Copenhagen – Hamburg day trains from May 2026.
- Nox night trains: a smart new cabin concept or just an unachievable dream?.
- How firm are Eurostar and Deutsche Bahn’s “2030s” Germany to London train link plans?.
- Leo Express files plans for extraordinary 2026 Bratislava–Ostend and Venice–Northern Germany services.
- Rail should be functional, not fine art: EU leaders call for standardisation and lower costs.
- Subsidies for night trains? “You cannot fix this until someone builds more sleeper and couchette carriages”.
- Leo Express and Arenaways plan direct train between Prague and Venice.
- Italo targets the German high-speed rail market.
- Trenitalia eyes expansion into Germany’s high-speed trains market.
- European Commission wants to link all EU capitals by high-speed train by 2040… and that’s not going to happen.
- Travellers in Europe increasingly open to choosing trains over planes for short-haul journeys.
- REVIEW | European Sleeper night train.
- Paris Nightjet axed: France’s withdrawal threatens Europe’s night train revival.
- Iron Rhine gets renewed political attention in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
- ÖBB prioritises Railjet over Nightjet: Is the night train revival a False Dawn?.
- EUROPEAN SLEEPER | Brussels to Barcelona night train to stop in Avignon, Montpellier, Narbonne, and Girona.
- Trenitalia, Deutsche Bahn and ÖBB launch Frecciarossa EuroCity trains linking Berlin, Munich, Milan, Rome and Naples.
- EU train travel report sees increase in cross-border passenger trains and easier bookings.
- Brussels to Luxembourg by train under 2 hours by 2030?.
- Eurostar and five more train operators joined the European Agreement on Journey Continuation.
- ÖBB’s new Nightjet sleeper cars accommodate solo travellers with Mini Cabins.
- EUROCITY EC-8 | Basel to Cologne in SBB’s Panoramic Car.
- REVIEW | Trenitalia Frecciarossa 1000 Paris – Milan in Business Executive.
- RAIL TOUR OF EUROPE | How easy is touring Europe by train?.
- Eight train connections between the Netherlands and Belgium by 2030?.
- REVIEW | ÖBB Nightjet Amsterdam – Zurich night train.
- Nightjet Vienna/Innsbruck to Brussels, or how we got thrown off the train in Aachen.
- Why the expensive ÖBB Nightjet is really not that expensive.
- Ticket Distribution: the failure of railways to sell themselves.
- To use night trains in Portugal and Spain or not?.
- Night trains in Europe.
- Low-cost, long-haul trains to conquer Europe?.
- Fly now before it’s taxed and consider using the train instead.
