New free online tool lets anyone design night train routes and see what they cost and save. Public beta starts on 22 September, the first day of InnoTrans in Berlin.
Berlin, 17 September 2026 – On 22 September, the first day of InnoTrans, Back-on-Track will launch the public beta of its Night Train Modeling Tool. The tool is free and open source. Anyone can use it to draw night train routes on a real map of the European rail network. The tool then shows right away what each route would cost and how much CO2 it would save. The best designs will feed into a study for a European night train network in 2032. The study will be presented to the European Commission (DG MOVE) and to national transport authorities.
Back-on-Track wants to double the number of night train connections in Europe, from about 150 today to 300, and to triple the number of night train passengers by 2032. With an ambitious night train network, Europe could avoid around 3% of the total greenhouse gas emissions of the EU (source: https://back-on-track.eu/the-global-warming-reduction-potential-of-night-trains/).
“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, Back-on-Track Chairperson
The tool was built by ten Back-on-Track volunteers from across Europe. It is published under a GPL licence, so anyone can check every number and every step of the model. While the rail industry meets at InnoTrans in Berlin, a team of volunteers is publishing a planning tool that everyone can use for free.
The beta turns network planning into a game. Users take the role of a network planner. They draw routes on a real map of the rail network. The tool then creates realistic timetables and tests different train compositions. It shows the full operating costs, the public money needed, and the CO2 that would be saved. Users can compare results across standard scenarios and share them with the community. But the goal behind the game is serious: a study with open data and an open method that decision makers can trust.
“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 tool is the first step of a five step process. From 22 September, Back-on-Track will collect route designs from users. The next steps are feedback, the choice of the strongest routes as the backbone of the target network, and a final study with a public interactive map. All contributors will be credited. Through 2026, the tool will get new features, such as the planned 2032 rail network, policy simulations, and full network analysis.
The beta is free and open to everyone from 22 September: https://targetnetwork.back-on-track.eu
For more information, please contact Juri Mairer (chair@back-on-track.eu, +49 1704 156 986) or David Wedekind (davidj.wedekind@gmail.com, +49 1573 2450 092).
