The Malta Railway Foundation has expressed surprise and disappointment by plans to transform the former Malta Railways tunnel under the parliament building into additional offices, a library and a bar for MPs.

The Valletta tunnel was part of the railway terminus which stretched to the former Opera House. It could be accessed from the ticketing offices which stood on the site now occupied by the parliament building. Theatre-goers could also reach it directly from the theatre.

In a post on Facebook, the foundation said it had been working hard together with a number of mayors and the local councils of Birkirkara, Attard, Ħamrun and Floriana to set up a railway museum, a heritage trail, restore the Attard railway embankment and clear and open the stairway at the underground station in Floriana.

"Now we read that the former railway tunnel in Valletta is to be turned into parliamentary offices. Great love for our heritage." 

Paul Galea, the foundation's founder and chairman was clearly shocked, insisting that parliament should have looked elsewhere for additional office space, such as the little-used middle storey of the shopping complex just across the road.

"Transforming the tunnel into offices will deny Malta an important element of its transport heritage, 135 years after the railway was started," Mr Galea said.

"This feels like a stab in the back, right when we have just restored a railway carriage and got EU funds for the railway museum at Birkirkara station and the restoration of the embankment."

The history of the Malta Railways is also now part of the Year Four curriculum.

"There is great public interest in the history of the Malta Railways. Just see the many hundreds of people who turn whenever we open part of the Floriana tunnel. And now we get this, from parliament itself. Really, I do not know how this country thinks sometimes," Mr Galea said.

He also questioned the wisdom of placing the parliament library underground, saying great effort would be needed to counter humidity.

The ticket offices were damaged during the war and completely demolished in the 1960s to make way for Freedom Square, the site now occupied by Parliament.

The remains of the on-ground ticket offices being removed when Freedom Square was created during the City Gate project of the 1960s. The site is now occupied by the Parliament building.

The Malta Railway Foundation, he said, was never consulted about the plans.

He appealed for a rethink, pointing out that section of the tunnel has already been occupied by parliament's air conditioning system, but the rest should be preserved, its platforms restored, and occasionally opened for viewing.

Mr Galea pointed out that when the latest city gate project was launched, a promise was made to restore the platforms. Instead, they were damaged by heavy equipment and then removed.  

The Malta Railways operated between Valletta and Rabat from 1883 to 1931.

The tunnel was used as a bomb shelter during the war and later used as a car park, when it became known as the Yellow Garage.

READ: Chugging back in transport history