A narrow-gauge railway system designed by John Barraclough Fell was initially proposed.

In 1880, the newspaper The Malta Standard reported that "in a short space of time, the inhabitants of these Islands may be able to boast of possessing a railway", and that the line was to be open by the end of 1881.

The line was opened on 28 February 1883 at 3pm, when the first train left Valletta and arrived at Mdina after about 25 minutes.

From 1895 on an extension of the line was under work aiming for the barracks at Mtarfa behind the historic city of Mdina.

[3] During the siege of Malta in World War II, the railway tunnel running under the fortifications of Valletta was used as an air-raid-shelter.

Over the years, long stretches of the former railway line were surfaced with tarmac and converted into roads.

The Line extended over 11.1 km / 6.9 mi, climbing 150 meters / 500 feet at a maximum of 25 Per mil.

In order to keep to the agreed entrances the tunnel itself was deviated around the reservoir, giving it a double S-curve in the middle.

[6][7] They had provisions for recycling exhaust steam into the tanks when in tunnels to improve air quality.

Various parts of the railway still exist to this day, most notably the stations at Birkirkara and Mdina, along with various bridges and tunnels.

The station at Valletta was damaged during World War II and was demolished in the 1960s to make way for Freedom Square.

A former railway tunnel under St Philip's Gardens was reopened in 2011 and has been open for visitors on various occasions since then.

It shows photographs, documents and other memorabilia of the railway, in addition to models of eight segments of the line reconstructed in a ratio 1:148 by Nicholas Azzopardi between 1981 and 1985.

[13] In May 2015, the Transport Minister Joe Mizzi said that the government is considering the introduction of a surface railway system in order to reduce traffic congestion.