At the fringes of the fortifications

admin – 22 January 2026 – 1:10 pm

This 1975 photo shows the Malta Railway crossing out of the Floriana Lines, albeit long after the trains last ran.

The glacis was backfilled and repaired after closure and the way blocked-up between the two abutment features behind the steps.

_{1975 photo showing the view from Notre Dame bastion. At the end of the bridge two sets of steps drop down to track level from either side. Beyond them are two ramped embankments that seem to have been designed for some unknown purpose.}

I believe the steps were a designed pedestrian crossing of the railway line, but what of those abutments with ramps leading up to them? They survive today.

Was there an abortive plan for a pedestrian overbridge here?

_{The steps and abutments survive in 2025, though now more heavily overgrown. The infilling of the railway cutting here was effected shortly after the closure of the railway for the planting of the memorial grove.}

Also shown are the diagonally aligned stone bases that supported the original timber bridge across the ditch, replaced after Government took over the line.

The present bridge is likely to have been one of three “skew bridges” designed by architect Andrea Vassalo as part of his Office of Works duties. These were included in his resume when he was seeking professional accreditation as an architect.

*_{The diagonal stone piers of the original timber bridge survive beneath the stone replacement. The 1890s bridge was built across the vestiges of its predecessor rather than removing its remains.}*

CATEGORIES:

Engineering–History–Surviving features

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bridge Floriana Malta Railway

At the fringes of the fortifications

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