February reminds us of the inauguration (and a subsequent reopening) of the Malta Railway, then popularly known locally as il-vapur tal-art, which was the first mechanised overland public transport service to be introduced in the Maltese islands.
Primarily, it provided a useful commuting service for the working population but it also became popular for leisurely travel since it linked Valletta and Mdina via San Anton Gardens.
Surveys and plans for the railway were carried out in the 1870s with the original intention being to construct a network of lines covering almost all of Malta, together with plans for an internal underground service in Valletta. Plans were submitted by J. Scott Tucker in 1870, Major Hutchinson in 1873, Architect Edward Rosenbush in 1873 and George Fernandes in 1875.
A woman who suffered a permanent debility when the bus she was seated in eight years ago crashed into Portes des Bombes has been awarded close to €18,000 in damages.
The 52-year old victim, who at the time of the accident was a senior care worker at the Education Department, was one of the unfortunate passengers on board an Arriva bus involved in the crash in October 2012.
File photo
It was around 3pm when the bus driver, on the Valletta to Żebbuġ route, lost control of the vehicle which crashed into the side of Portes des Bombes, dislodging the stonework and causing a traffic pileup as two other buses collided, one of them crashing into the central strip.