Funds have been secured and the tendering process initiated for the restoration of the only surviving carriage from the Maltese railway system.

The wagon, which for 30 years sat in Birkirkara’s former train station, Ġnien l-Istazzjon, was relocated  last year elsewhere in Birkirkara after it was almost destroyed by vandals.

However, readers who have spotted the wagon in recent weeks contacted this newspaper, concerned it was not being restored.

When it was being transported to a safer place, which remained undisclosed to deter further vandalism, the council was already planning to restore the wagon and turn a childcare centre in the garden into a train museum.

The council had originally applied for funding under a €1 million government scheme, however the project was not chosen and the council decided to appeal the decision.

When contacted yesterday, a spokesman said that the appeal was upheld and €42,000 was being granted to restore the third-class carriage, which has long been exposed to the natural elements.

The restoration job will be done in consultation with the Malta Railway Foundation.

Meanwhile, the local council is working on refurbishing the gardens where the restored carriage will sit, including upgrading the playing field.

While it was still seeking funding for the job, CCTV cameras were installed in Ġnien l-Istazzjon.

The local council was  granted a planning permit in 2014 to turn a childcare centre in the public garden into the Historical Malta Railway Museum.

Known as Il-vapur tal-art, the Malta railway ran between 1883 and 1931, but the service was halted because it could not compete with trams and buses.

The railway consisted of a single line from Valletta to Mdina, and the train passed under City Gate in Valletta to Porte des Bombes. A second tunnel, passing under Rabat and Mdina on the way to Mtarfa, was inaugurated in 1900.