Poland
In a small town in Wielkopolska there is a working roundhouse, a turntable, a coaling stage and a steam locomotive that takes an ordinary timetabled passenger train out at twenty-eight minutes past two every weekday afternoon. Wolsztyn is widely described as the last place in Europe where that is still true — and it very nearly stopped being true, resuming only in March 2026 and resting on a single serviceable engine.
At the other end of the country the line into the Tatras carries a different kind of ghost. In 1936 a streamlined railcar called the Luxtorpeda ran Kraków to Zakopane in two hours eighteen. Poland took eighty-eight years to beat that, and beat it by one minute. The weekend train that carries the name today is half an hour slower.
Rail journeys in Poland
Kraków to Zakopane
In 1936 a streamlined railcar ran this line in two hours eighteen. It took eighty-eight years to beat that — by one minute. The weekend train is slower.
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Wolsztyn · Scheduled Steam
An ordinary timetabled passenger train that local people use to get to work, hauled by a 1940s Mikado — widely called the last of its kind in Europe.
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What are Poland's best rail journeys?
Two, and they could hardly be less alike. Wolsztyn runs scheduled steam-hauled passenger trains in the ordinary public timetable — a weekday round trip to Zbąszynek and a Saturday run to Poznań — at ordinary fares, with no supplement. Kraków to Zakopane is the line into the Tatras, whose weekend regional service is named after the 1936 Luxtorpeda and takes the long, beautiful way through the Beskids for 25 złoty.
Is the Wolsztyn steam service really still running?
Yes — but only since 9 March 2026, and it is fragile. The depot has been in what the railway press calls a serious crisis since the Wolsztyn Experience ended in mid-2023, and the service currently depends on one working main-line locomotive, the 2-8-2 Pt47-65, which had been under overhaul for over six months. A second engine, Ol49-69, has a new boiler but no announced return date. Confirm before you travel — this has stopped and restarted before.
Did anyone ever beat the Luxtorpeda's 1936 record?
Eventually. The Luxtorpeda railcar covered the 147 km from Kraków to Zakopane in 2 hours 18 minutes in 1936 — though on a test run with no passengers that stopped nowhere, which was never a fair comparison. PKP tried and failed once, arriving three minutes late. Then in March 2024 the Ekspres "Tatry" managed 2 hours 17, inside the old mark by a single minute after eighty-eight years. The regional train that carries the name today takes 2 h 48.
When should I go?
For steam, go in February — cold air makes the exhaust stand up in a solid white column, which is why the enthusiasts come then — or in spring for the annual Wolsztyn gala. For the Tatras, September is the best month: warm, clear and quiet. Zakopane's ski season runs from December to March and fills both the town and the trains. Whatever you choose, check the Wolsztyn service is running before you build a trip around it.