A full scale model of a locomotive on rails will grace the disused bridge in Floriana that used to form part of Malta’s railway line.

The Floriana council has received a permit from the planning authority to install a monument to the island’s train that ran from 1883 to 1931.

Details such as colours and whether the train will be a replica have still to be decided

The plans include replacing a wall now blocking the former railway tunnel with a gate, which lies just below Notre Dame Ravelin, an outside development zone.

It forms part of the Floriana bastions and is scheduled as a Grade 1 monument, while scheduling the train tunnel and viaduct has also been proposed.

Details such as the colour scheme and whether the train will be a replica have still to be decided.

The tunnel and viaduct date back to the late 19th century when a train plied a route between Valletta and Mtarfa. The tunnel and bridge were the exit and entry points into the Floriana lines.

The train used to pass under City Gate in Valletta to Portes des Bombes. A second tunnel, passing under Rabat and Mdina on the way to Mtarfa, was inaugurated in 1900.

The Floriana tunnel has remained unused since the end of the railway service, except for a section that was turned into a large air raid shelter during the war and some parts that hold underground cables.

The railway in Malta was referred to as vapur tal-art, which means land ship.

Birchircara (the old way of writing Birkirkara) railway station was considered to be the main hub where trains to Rabat and Valletta met.

The railway consisted of a single line, from Valletta to Mdina, which extended for more than 11 kilometres, climbing 150 metres.

First and third-class carriages were originally illuminated by candles but changed to battery-powered lights in 1900.

When the railway stopped running in 1931, 34 carriages were being used.

One third-class carriage was preserved, restored and placed outside Birkirkara’s former station.