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 feasibility study for a new light rail metro system in Valletta was published in 2021.
© 2004-2021
Glyn Williams
Photo image believed public domain
