Research, Reports & Studies

Over the years, a variety of research, studies and reports have been written or commissioned by Transport Malta, its legacy organisations (Malta Maritime Authority, Malta Transport Authority and the Civil Aviation Directorate) or the Ministry that it reports to. These are listed in chronological order below:

2018

Malta Gozo Fixed Link

The Government of Malta, through Infrastructure Malta, and under the direction of Transport Malta and other applicable authorities, is currently planning the implementation of the Malta-Gozo Tunnel project, to establish a permanent link between these two islands and open up new social and economic opportunities for families and businesses in Gozo.

Several studies, including an environmental impact assessment, are currently being compiled to rigorously plan this major infrastructural investment. Experts with extensive experience in their respective fields of study, and approved by the relevant authorities, are conducting these independent studies to identify the most sustainable and safest tunnel route and the best possible implementation methods. Further details here.

2013

ITS Plan Deployment 2013 - 2017 (Transport Malta)

In January 2013 Transport Malta submitted another report on the implementation of Intelligent Transport Systems - The National ITS Action Plan for Malta (2013 - 2017).

The Action Plan is a synthesis of how Transport Malta intends to roll out Malta’s first major ITS deployment which is split into two phases and spanning over an eight year time frame. The first phase will take place between 2013 and 2017 while the second phase will be carried out in the following three years, from 2018 to 2020.

More details and download of the report can be found here INTERNET LINK

2012

Decarbonated Airport Regions - D-Air (Transport Malta)

This INTERREG funded project is envisaged to calculate a carbon footprint of the airport commercial operations taking into consideration all land based carbon sources, including land transportation to/from the airport, along with aviation related activity within the airport boundary. Details of this project can be found here

Greening the Maritime Port - PORT-PVEV (Transport Malta)

This Italia-Malta project aims to demonstrate how to make ports more energy efficient. The project will help reduce the carbon footprint of Transport Malta’s port management activity both in power generation and use of new forms of electric mobility in the port areas. This project will carry out a study on the feasibility of providing shore-supply connections for vessels in Maltese ports. Further information can be found here

Integrated Strategy for Sustainable Transport - STREETS (Transport Malta)

Funded by Italia-Malta, this project contributes towards the strengthening of efficiency, sustainability and integration within a joint transport system aiming at an improved internal/external accessibility and competitiveness.

The main result of this study is expected to be the identification of means of overcoming the current bottlenecks identified within/between Malta and Sicily in relation to land and air infrastructures for both logistics and commercial services. The project will provide a basis for understanding means of achieving better accessibility through a more eco-friendly transport system. Further information may be found here

Assessment of Road Tunnel Options between Malta and Gozo - A Preliminary Analysis - (Mott MacDonald)

Details of the report of Mott MacDonald on the Malta - Gozo Fixed Link and the development of this as a transport strategy can be found here

2011

DemoEV - Demonstration of the feasibility of electric vehicles towards climate change mitigation (Transport Malta and others)

In collaboration with the Ministry for Transport and Infrastructure (formerly the Ministry for Resources and Rural Affairs (MRRA)), Ministry for Gozo and Enemalta, Transport Malta is participating in a research and demonstration project called DemoEV. This project will contribute towards the attainment of a carbon neutral road transportation system in Malta by putting into practice, testing, evaluating and disseminating a number of actions with respect to the achievement of electromobility.

The project will facilitate the understanding of changes in transport that will support the attainment of Malta’s targets under the Climate Change and Energy Package. It will also be another step in Malta’s practical implementation of the National Air Quality Plan.

This project is led by the Ministry for Transport and Infrastructure and additional information can be found here

ITS Deployment Report (Transport Malta)

Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) are advanced applications which without embodying intelligence as such aim to provide innovative services relating to different modes of transport and traffic management and enable various users to be better informed and make safer, more coordinated and ‘smarter’ use of transport networks.

Malta has submitted its first Action Plan Report to the Commission in August 2011 outlining the national activities and projects regarding the priority areas. The ITS Action Plan Report submitted in August 2011 can be found here (pdf, 2011, 148Kb)

2010

3rd National Household Travel Survey (Transport Malta)

Transport Malta, together with the former Ministry for Infrastructure, Transport and Communications, commissioned PricewaterhouseCoopers to conduct a National Household Travel Survey, on 26th May 2010. This survey was the third of its’ kind in Malta. The first two were held in 1989 and 1998 respectively. The NHTS of 1989 is summarized in the Structure Plan Reports of Survey 1990 Section 4.

The survey shows that dependency on the private car has increased overall from 1998 to 2010, albeit at a much slower rate than between 1989 and 1998. This slow down was to be expected, mainly because of the fact that the country is reaching saturation point in traffic capacity, as well as in the light that the rate of growth of the economy was not as rapid in the last 12 years, as compared to the previous 9 years. The slower growth in car-use is also attributed to the several restraint schemes that have been put into place over the last 12 years, namely the CVA in Valletta, increased pedestrianisation zones and restricted parking schemes in several towns. The improvement of the bus services (pre-Arriva), with the introduction of a considerable number of new routes has not only helped in this slower growth of car-use, but has also ensured that the bus maintained its 1998 share of the global trips.

The NHTS shows that the transport situation is still far from being sustainable. With three out of every four trips being carried out by private car, there is considerable scope for improvement. The low car occupancy rate also suggests that there is ample space to make our roads more efficient.

Nevertheless, the results are not all doom and gloom, and the Valletta-related results are certainly heartening, where it has been shown that the situation can be reversed, when new actions are supported by appropriate planning. It is also encouraging to see the claim by a considerable number of car users that they willing to switch their trips to more sustainable modes if these are significantly improved. Together with the imminent reform in the public transport, scheduled for July 2011, should ensure that the modal split table in the next NHTS will look much healthier than it is now.

NHTS Report for 2010 can be found here (pdf, 2010, 1.51Mb)

2008

Study on Light Rapid Transit and Trams (Halcrow Group Ltd)

In 2008, the former Ministry for Infrastructure, Transport and Communications commissioned a preliminary report on the possibility of implementing a Light Rapid Transit (or tram) system in Malta along with some potential routes for this means of transport.

The report concluded that there are no technical hurdles that would preclude the Valletta to Sliema and Valletta to National Stadium (via Birkirkara old tram route). While the report notes that there is significant demand, it also recommends that further detailed studies are to be carried out to determine the feasibility of its deployment based on details demand and revenue stream analysis. The preliminary analysis shows that this service would require ongoing government subsidy.

The report can be found here (pdf, 2008, 796kb)

A presentation by Halcrow Group Ltd. can be found here (pdf, 2008, 4.32Mb)

2007

Plan for Cycle Routes on Malta and Gozo (Ministry for Urban Development and Roads)

This study was supported by EU funds Interreg III B 2000-2006 ARCHIMED as part of the CY.RO.N.MED project, Cycle Route Network of the Mediterranean. The CY.RO.N.MED was an EU funded project for partners in Cyprus, Greece, Italy and Malta.

General manual for the creation of cycle networks in the Mediterranean Region (Ministry for Urban Development and Roads)

The purpose of this report was to produce a technical manual to be used as a source of standards and definitions by all partners in the CY.RO.N.MED project.

The report and manual of the Plan for Cycle Routes in Malta and Gozo can be found here

Malta Bus Rapid Transit Feasibility Report (Halcrow Group Ltd)

A final report carried out by Halcrow Group Ltd, to carry out a strategic level study into the scope for introducing a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system for major public transport corridors on the island of Malta. The study also provided more detail about engineering options for preferred routes. Overall, it was concluded that BRT has great scope for offering a new level of public transport to the Maltese islands, and hence encouraging modal shift to more sustainable modes of transport.

The report can be found here (pdf, 3.69Mb)

2006

Study on Strategic Evaluation on Transport Investment Priorities under Structural and Cohesion funds for the Programming Period 2007 - 2013

The aim of this study was to give a more detailed indication of the strengths and weaknesses of the transport system in Malta and to address areas for furture intervention. The report is divided into three main areas: a needs assessment based on an analysis of the current transport systems and a modelling analysis which reveals the current (relative) level of accessibility per region; an overview of the transport investment priorities in the past period; future areas for priority transport investments.

The report can be found here (pdf, 3.17Mb)

2005

A Public Transport Strategy for Malta - A Transit Orientated Development Policy (Ministry for Urban Development and Roads)

The purpose of the report was to address Public Transport issues and develop a long term Strategy based on ’Transit Oriented Development’. The enhancement and re-development of the Public Transport in this report is viewed as a long term sustainable solution to congested road networks, the ever increasing private car fleet, pollution and related health risks.

2004

Feasibility and Environmental Impact Studies for Transport Infrastructure Projects in MALTA (BCEOM French Engineering Consultants)

The objective of this study was to provide supporting information to the TINA final report in line with Council Regulation (EC) 2236/95 that lays down the general rules for the granting of Community financial aid in the field of Trans-European Network for possible co-financing through “Structural/Cohesion” funds.

The study helped Malta take into account the Council and Parliament decisions on the development of TEN-T and the report concludes that the projects are recommended for financial support from the Community as they have been found to be economically viable and environmentally sustainable.

The report (excluding technical annexes) can be found here (pdf, 2004, 4.6Mb)

2002

Transport Infrastructure Needs Assessment for Malta (TINA - VIENNA)

This document concludes the Transport Infrastructure Needs Assessment (TINA) in Malta, as it was carried out between April 2001 and March 2002. The work was undertaken by the European Commission to identify the network components for a future Trans-European Transport Network in Malta. The procedures for Malta’s accession to the European Union were underway at the time with Malta becoming a full member in 2004.

The report identified the transport network that can be considered as the basis for the future extension of the Trans-European transport network on the island. The identification of this multi-modal network (consisting of roads, ports and one airport) takes into consideration the needs of the country, its specific characteristics and its economic capacity to realise the proposed infrastructure (based on the same realistic assumptions of TINA, i.e. allocation of 1.5% of annual GDP for transport infrastructure).

The definition of the network was followed by the identification of those investment measures, which - in a horizon up to 2015 – would modernise and upgrade the existing transport infrastructure to a level which complies with the European requirements.

The report can be found here (pdf, 2002, 15.4Mb)