Dressed in tailored suits and matching hats, a group of men wait at the Mtarfa railway station to catch their daily train to Valletta as they prepare for another day’s work.
Some may hope this is an account of a new transport service in the pipeline; it is actually a scene from Malta’s locomotive past, which only few would remember.
The ghost of Malta’s railway will be rekindled in the nation’s memory during Notte Bianca in Valletta on Saturday when the Department of Information will be launching a documentary about the extinct track system and the days when even Maltese commuters had to mind the gap.
The railway, that started operating on February 28, 1883, was known to locals as il-vapur tal-art (the ship of the land) due to the vaporous smoke emitted as the metal wagons chugged across the island.
Travelling at about 48 kilometres an hour, it ferried passengers from Valletta to Mdina stopping at various stations that included Floriana, Ħamrun, Birkirkara, Attard and Mtarfa.
Tunnels, like the one at Valletta’s St James Ditch, were engineered to accommodate the stations and miles of track joining one village to the other.
There were three different tariffs for commuters starting from one penny per mile for the first class carriage, half a penny for second class and a special two pence tariff for workers travelling between Valletta and Rabat.
The train was the first means of mechanised mass transport on the island. The idea of having a railway was sparked by a desire to shorten the time to travel from Valletta to Mdina back in 1870 but it was not until 1883 that the first train engine was fired up. However, in 1890 it became clear the company was bankrupt and the railways closed down. In 1892, the government reopened the line and eventually made several improvements and extensions to the system. It finally closed down for good on March 31, 1931 because it could not compete with the tram and bus service that now faces competition from the car overpopulation.
Today, faint reminders of the railway are scattered around the island such as the train carriage in Ġnien l-Istazzjon, Birkirkara, that is in dire need of restoration. Another memory is at Stazzjon, over the valley between Rabat and Mtarfa that for a time had been converted into a restaurant.
The documentary, to be shown at the Old University Building in St Paul Street, will provide insights into the construction works carried out to build the line and information about engineering works, including the method of tunnelling.
It will also show a unique collection of photos and interviews with people who remember the train in operation. There will also be an exhibition of a number of train models and a working model of a train engine used in Malta.
Entrance to watch the documentary and exhibition is free and one can order a copy of the documentary for €5.