Railways in

Malta

Colourized image of a train of Malta Railway at Museum station, Mtarfa

The first railway in Malta was a 6½ mile (10.5km) metre gauge line from Valletta to Notabile (Mdina or Imdina), opened in 1883. It was extended a further ½ mile (0.8km) to Mtarfa (Imtarfa or Marfa) in 1900. The line closed in 1931.

An electric tram system operated in Valletta from 1905 to 1929.

There is still some evidence of the original railway, including several station buildings, and a tunnel which is now used by a road. A small museum in an old carpentry shop in the village of Attard, a few hundred metres from the old line, houses a miniature recreation of the railway and some artefacts. The only surviving example of rolling stock is the body of a 3rd class carriage, on static display at the site of the former Birkirkara station. A restaurant in the old station building at Museum, Mtarfa houses a model of one of the locomotives.

A proposal for an ambitious new 3 line, 35km underground metro system was published in 2021, but not progressed. In 2026, an alternative proposal emerged for a 24km light rail line from St Paul’s Bay, via central Valletta, to the Malta International Airport.

• Valletta proposed light rail (No website located at present)