Plans For Malta’s Metro System ‘Near Completion’ With Public Consultation Needed Next
Plans for Malta’s first-ever underground metro system are near completion and a public discussion is now needed before it can go ahead.
Today, Prime Minister Robert Abela announced that the government was committed to “offering new methods of public transport” during a press conference launching 50 new public buses.
Abela said that the study on the mass transport system was “nearing its end” and said he was excited to share it publicly.
When contacted for a comment by Lovin Malta, Transport Minister Ian Borg confirmed the study, which was commissioned by his ministry, is “nearly done” and the next step is to launch a public discussion.
“The next step is to launch a public discussion, preferably bipartisan and not politicised,” Ian Borg told Lovin Malta. “It’s time to discuss this as a nation and see if it’s time for Malta to have an underground system.”
If the metro gets approved, it would link the most populated areas of Malta.
The metro system would not connect with Gozo and would be focused on connecting the busiest areas on the island.
The Transport Minister went on to say that an underground system such as a metro would be the “ideal” system to address Malta’s transport issues.
Malta’s commuters often complain of congested roads, especially during rush hours, and in the busiest areas of Malta.
While the island is undergoing several road-widening projects to address that congestion, as well as building new links between localities, an underground mass transport system would introduce a whole new way of travelling that would avoid congesting roads.