Updated January 10 with SCH reply
The Malta Railway Foundation has raised the alarm over damage caused to the remains of a railway embankment in Attard because of work on the Central Link project, but the roads agency insists the structure had not been harmed.
The foundations of the former San Salvatore railway station, not far from Mount Carmel Hospital, were uncovered last year. The Malta railway ran between 1883 and 1931 but the service was halted because it could not compete with buses.
Paul Galea, from the foundation, told Times of Malta that a cycling and footbridge parallel to an existing bridge connecting Triq il-Linja with Mdina Road has been built quite close to the recently discovered embankment.
In March, the foundation had flagged concern over “irreparable damage” the works could cause but it had been reassured that the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage will be monitoring the works.
Yet, when Galea visited the site again this week, he realised that original slabs had been removed to make way for drainage pipes, while parts of the embankment have now become inaccessible and cannot, therefore, be cleared of debris that accumulates in the area, leaving the area as a “dumping ground”.
“What is the superintendence monitoring? The current state of the embankment is not acceptable. What is the use of being an officially registered NGO and a registered voluntary organisation? Our voices and pleas are not being given any consideration,” he said.
Our voices and pleas are not being given any consideration
Bridge closed from Monday
The foundation’s concerns increased when the Attard local council and Infrastructure Malta announced that the bridge connecting Triq il-Linja with Mdina Road, which used to link to the San Salvatore station, will be closed for traffic from Monday.
The agency will be kicking a project to “upgrade” the bridge, Infrastructure Malta warned motorists.
When contacted, an IM spokesperson said the construction of the new cycle lane and the upcoming works to improve accessibility of the Triq il-Linja bridge are being carried out in consultation with the Planning Authority and the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage.
Works are being supervised by archaeologists approved by the superintendence, he confirmed.
“The remains of the railway embankment, which were buried in the past during road works decades ago, were exposed and cleaned during the recent works. These remains were not damaged or dismantled during these ongoing works. They will now remain exposed next to the new cycle lane and footpath, as requested by SCH, so that they can be restored.”
Embankment not damaged by works - Superintendence
Contrary to residents' claims, the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage said that it was the poorly managed planting of trees and digging of sewage culverts, not the present works, that had damaged the embankment.
These "past insensitive interventions" were to blame for damages and present works had been carried out using hand tools in the most sensitive areas and under archaeological supervision, it said.
The Superintendence noted that the original plans had been to excavate the embankment in its entirety and that it was only thanks to its intervention that it was saved.
"It is agreed by all concerned entities that the embankment will be restored by Infrastructure Malta under Superintendence's monitoring and rendered visible," a spokesperson said.