This map was produced by Juri Maier for Back-on-Track Europe, an international association that promotes the expansion of night-time rail services in Europe. It has been published annually since 2023, and this map is the 2026 edition.
The map lists all night trains with sleeping cars or berths that run regularly across Europe. Each operator is assigned a colour, and their website domain is printed in the same colour as the corresponding route, making the map a booking guide as well. The legend distinguishes between different levels of frequency: services running 6–7 days a week, 3–5 days a week, 1–2 days a week, seasonal-only routes and suspended routes due to be reopened.
The design follows the tradition of underground network maps, so it sacrifices geographical accuracy in favour of the clarity of connections: many cities are not shown in their exact locations. The result is a map of relationships and connections, not of distances.
European night train services saw a drastic reduction in services between 2000 and the mid-2010s. Since then, there has been a gradual recovery, with some national operators expanding their networks and other private operators launching new routes. Spain is a striking exception to this trend: there are currently no night trains with sleeping cars operating in the country.
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