The proposed railway station in Attard has nothing to do with the original building that was demolished during the war, according to the railway foundation, which will be meeting the local council over its objection.

“The Malta Railway Foundation does not agree with the proposed design of the new building as it will not be restoring history,” founder Paul Galea told Times of Malta.

“If we’re going to build something from scratch we should at least make the outside of the building as close as possible to the original Victorian one, and adapt the indoors to our needs.”

In 2018, the local council announced that Malta's only remaining railway embankment is being restored and incorporated into a walking heritage trail leading to an information centre. 

The Attard Railway Station will serve as an information centre and a public library.

The embankment, which abuts the Corinthia Palace Hotel and lies just 100 metres away from San Anton Palace, was built in 1882 as part of Malta's railway system, which operated until 1931.

Watch: Restored railway carriage is back at Birkirkara station

The Attard local council’s station railway station project will be financed through ERDF funds.

The foundation provided the council with historical information about the railway station and system, and will also be providing the exhibits that will be hosted in the new information centre.

It is objecting, among others, to a proposed awning that has nothing to do with the old railway station.

The proposed Attard Railway Station. Photo: Malta Railway Foundation

“There is no comparison at all. This is not acceptable at all. We need to be more sensitive to our cultural heritage and rebuild the Attard Railway Station to the original architectural Victorian design.

"The Malta Railway Foundation will not be taken for a ride,” it said on Facebook.

A meeting has been scheduled with the Attard council for Wednesday.

Watch: Malta's last surviving train carriage chugs toward restoration

Known as il-vapur tal-art (ship on land), the railway ran from 1883 to 1931, when the service was halted because it could not financially compete with trams and buses.

Remnants of the service remain in Mtarfa, where there is another station, and Birkirkara, which also hosts the last surviving carriage.

Read: Railway tunnel offices plans are 'a stab in the back' - Foundation chairman