An eye to protection

Concerning news reaches us from Santa Venera courtesy of Architect Edward Said. One of the more regularly overlooked fragments surviving from the Malta Railway is a section of cutting wall visible along the north side of Triq Kappillan Mifsud. It’s been the feature of one of our previous reports and is identified as a monument in our record of remains. Recent work has been carried out to remove the pavement surface and poses a potential threat to the fabric.

The surviving section of the railway cutting wall is shown here on the right, freshly completed in 1883.

It’s not clear what the intention is in these works; It’s possibly just a case of resurfacing, but the fragment is fragile, and care needs to be taken in interfacing any new pavement with the historic monument, ensuring impact upon it is minimised.  

Thankfully, Mr Said has recognised the risks and appealed to the authorities, asking for attention and care to be paid to the structure. It’s reassuring that there are people who recognise the importance of the surviving landmarks of the Malta Railway, actively campaigning for their protection. Hopefully, work will be completed without further disturbance of the cutting wall.

The threatened section of Railway cutting wall looking from the east. This and the headline photo courtesy of Edward Said.

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