Maltanka Park Railway

For many Poznań residents, the narrow-gauge train along Lake Malta is a first childhood memory – and its story is older than the lake's leisure park itself. Maltanka started in 1956 as a children's railway in the Dębina district and moved to the lake in 1972. It runs on 600 mm track, has colour-light signals, and on selected weekends it is pulled by a Borsig steam locomotive from 1925.

History: from Dębina to Malta

The railway was the first attraction of an amusement park planned in Dębina in the 1950s. Its five little carriages were built by the Cegielski works and its locomotive came from the state railway repair works. It opened on 22 July 1956 as the Poznań Children's Railway, and from 1957 it was run with the help of the scouts. When a new road was planned across its route, the railway was moved to Lake Malta and reopened as "Maltanka" on 21 July 1972; the city transport company MPK Poznań has run it ever since.

Between 2013 and 2021 it carried 120,000–140,000 passengers a year. According to MPK, it is one of three park railways in Poland, one of two with 600 mm gauge, and the only one in the country with colour-light signals and automatically controlled points.

Route and stations

The track totals 3,850 m, and the line itself is just under 4 km:

1. Maltanka – the starting station by the Śródka roundabout; its half-timbered building dates from 1998.
2. Ptyś – by the Malta Thermal Baths.
3. Balbinka – the passing loop where two trains meet.
4. Zwierzyniec – the terminus by the New Zoo.

Good to know

MPK describes the Borsig Bn2t locomotive of 1925 as the oldest working steam locomotive in Poland and the country's only narrow-gauge engine with two whistles. A second steam engine, Tx26-423 from 1926, restored by volunteers in 2010, stands at Maltanka station. The oldest rail on the line dated from 1898.

Tickets and season (as of October 2026)

2026 prices (single / return): standard PLN 18 / 24, reduced for children under 16 PLN 12 / 16, family (up to 5 people, max. 2 over 16) PLN 48 / 64, school group of at least 10 children PLN 10 / 13. Tickets are sold at the Maltanka and Zwierzyniec stations. Towards the end of the season, trains ran hourly on weekdays and every 30 minutes at weekends between 10:00 and 18:00. The 2026 season ended on 27 September; MPK will publish the 2027 timetable.

Tripto tip

Buy a single from Maltanka to Zwierzyniec, visit the New Zoo, then walk or cycle back along the lake – an ideal half-day with children. If you are hoping for steam, watch MPK's announcements, as the Borsig only runs on selected weekends. Trams serve the Śródka roundabout, and Ostrów Tumski, Poznań's cathedral island, is close by.