{"id":84366,"date":"2026-05-18T21:33:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T19:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shopsofmalta.com\/malta\/pn-promises-11-5km-metro-with-8-stations-and-10-trains-within-5-years-in-new-electoral-programme\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T21:33:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T19:33:00","slug":"pn-promises-11-5km-metro-with-8-stations-and-10-trains-within-5-years-in-new-electoral-programme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shopsofmalta.com\/malta\/pn-promises-11-5km-metro-with-8-stations-and-10-trains-within-5-years-in-new-electoral-programme\/","title":{"rendered":"PN promises 11.5km metro with 8 stations and 10 trains within 5 years in new electoral programme"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>PN promises 11.5km metro with 8 stations and 10 trains within 5 years in new electoral programme<\/p>\n<p>The Nationalist Party has made an 11.5-kilometre metro line within five years its keynote transport pledge, as it launched and approved its electoral programme for the upcoming general election.<\/p>\n<p>The manifesto was approved by the PN&rsquo;s General Council on Monday night, and features over 1,000 proposals split across 16 chapters.<\/p>\n<p>Many of the keynote proposals across a variety of sectors have already been announced in the run-up to the General Council, but one area which had remained unshared was the exact details on the party&rsquo;s proposal for a mass transport system.<\/p>\n<p>This is the party&rsquo;s main transport proposal, and the electoral programme makes it clear that the PN wants more than &ldquo;just promises like the Labour Party has made for the last four elections&rdquo; when it comes to this topic.<\/p>\n<p>The PN&rsquo;s mass transport project would be separated into two phases, with the first phase being a train line running from north to south over a distance of around 11.5 kilometres.&nbsp; The line would feature eight stations and ten operating trains, would cost around &euro;1.4 billion and would be operating within the first five years of the new government.<\/p>\n<p>The second phase would feature the construction of a second line and an extension to the aforementioned first line at an estimated cost of &euro;2.5 billion.&nbsp; The programme states that the overall cost of the project will be of around &euro;3.9 billion and will be able to carry out around 55 million trips per year.<\/p>\n<p>The party&rsquo;s electoral programme states that the first 100 days of a PN government would see the issuing of the implementation framework, call for offers, and financing and governance for the project. <\/p>\n<p>The &lsquo;Mass Rapid Transport System&rsquo; &ndash; as the party called it &ndash; would operate mostly underground, according to the programme, and would be free for all Maltese and Gozitan citizens.<\/p>\n<p>The party&rsquo;s electoral programme is split into 16 sub-sections, each with a varied amount of proposals.&nbsp; The sections related to the economy, health and sport, taxes, social policy, governance, tourism, and the environment, among others.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>The PN&rsquo;s key electoral measures are summarised below.&nbsp; The party&rsquo;s full electoral programme can be found <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pn.org.mt\/nifsgdid\/\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>here<\/b><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Economy<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Look at Data, AI, and New Space as new high-value economic sectors, together with a Mediterranean Centre for Clean Maritime Fuels in Hurd&rsquo;s Bank.<\/li>\n<li>Draft and implement a new law to regulate Space Activities within the first 100 days of being elected.<\/li>\n<li>Create a national platform for satellite connectivity and observation data within the first year of being elected.<\/li>\n<li>Remove the LNG tanker from Marsaxlokk and, within the first 100 days of being elected, create a Hurd&rsquo;s Bank Strategic Taskforce.<\/li>\n<li>Malta Homecoming Act which will guarantee a five-year tax break to highly-skilled Maltese specialising in areas where shortages are present who return to the country.<\/li>\n<li>Incentivise the four-day working week.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Private Sector<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Reducing taxes for small and micro-sized companies.<\/li>\n<li>An increase to the VAT exemption for small businesses from &euro;35,000 to &euro;70,000.<\/li>\n<li>Create at least 100 new affordable industrial spaces for SMEs.<\/li>\n<li>Create a &lsquo;Made in Malta&rsquo; mark as a sign of quality for Maltese products and services which reach certain standards.<\/li>\n<li>Remove SEPA payment fees and other excessive bank impositions on SMEs within the first 100 days of taking government.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Taxes<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Reduce income tax.<\/li>\n<li>Automatic annual adjustment of tax bands to reflect the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) so it is untaxed.<\/li>\n<li>Complimentary tax refund of &euro;1,200 per year.<\/li>\n<li>Five-year tax break to youths who make less than &euro;50,000 per year when they start working.&nbsp; The five years can be taken as a tax break at any point in the first decade that the youth starts working.<\/li>\n<li>Removal of inheritance tax and on donations of immoveable property.<\/li>\n<li>Widen the First Time Buyers&rsquo; Scheme so Stamp Duty Exemption rises to being on a maximum of &euro;350,000.<\/li>\n<li>Remove taxes on the first &euro;10,000 of income on part-time and overtime work.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Health &amp; Sport<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Develop a network of four hospitals: an expanded Mater Dei Hospital, a new hospital in the north of Malta, expansion of Paola Health Hub, and a new hospital in Gozo.<\/li>\n<li>Build a new National Health Park in Selmun.<\/li>\n<li>Cancer Treatment Guarantee: every cancer patient will be given all of their prescribed medicine for free.<\/li>\n<li>Start a Just-In Time Command Centre to eliminate waiting lists.<\/li>\n<li>Implement a new, modern model for mental health which integrates prevention, community care and in-patient care in a coordinated manner.<\/li>\n<li>Increase stipends for students studying in the health care sector to be equivalent to the minimum wage.<\/li>\n<li>Negotiate a new sectoral agreement for all health care workers within the first 100 days of being elected.<\/li>\n<li>Establish a Ministry specifically dedicated to sports and launch a National Sport Strategy which will cater for 2026 to 2035.<\/li>\n<li>Aim for Malta to win its first Olympic Medal in 2032.<\/li>\n<li>Establish a National Museum of Sport.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Education<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Create a new national school for STEAM &ndash; Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics &ndash; subjects.<\/li>\n<li>Build and open a new school every year.<\/li>\n<li>Increase all stipends by 25% from this October.<\/li>\n<li>Revise both Primary and Secondary school curricula to be more relevant to today.<\/li>\n<li>Build a new sports complex at the University of Malta within two years of being elected.<\/li>\n<li>Strengthen the professionalism of the education sector by introducing warrants and licences for educators, including LSEs and KGEs.<\/li>\n<li>Reform School Based Assessments to be more just and consistent.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Social Policy<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Extend maternity leave to six months, extend paternity leave to six weeks, and introduce a year of parental leave which can be split between both parents.<\/li>\n<li>Introduce 15 days of leave specifically for when children get sick.<\/li>\n<li>Introduce the concept of &lsquo;Core Hours&rsquo; where there is an agree period of time for office hours, allowing workers more flexibility outside of those hours.<\/li>\n<li>Enshrining flexible work practices, such as remote working, reduced or compacted hours and flexi-work, as a legal right.<\/li>\n<li>Introduce a &euro;5,000 Child Trust Fund for every child who is born.<\/li>\n<li>Introduce new concept of social housing known as &lsquo;Housing Associations.&rsquo;<\/li>\n<li>Increase pensions by at least &euro;650 per year.<\/li>\n<li>Significant reform to family law, including a child&rsquo;s right to both parents, recognition of parental alienation as emotional abuse, state system of children&rsquo;s maintenance, and effective enforcement of court orders.<\/li>\n<li>New law to distinguish between small NGOs and large NGOs to reduce bureaucracy on the former.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Youths<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Youth Pension Kick Start proposal which would see the government deposit &euro;5,000 across five years into a private pension plan for every person under the age of 35 who chooses to open one.<\/li>\n<li>Additional assistance equivalent to the minimum wage for students up to the age of 35 who are also parents.<\/li>\n<li>Introduce study leave during the exam period for those who are working full-time but also studying part-time. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Transport &amp; Planning<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A new Mass Rapid Transport System, with the first train line being complete and operational within five years, and made available free for Maltese and Gozitans.<\/li>\n<li>Launch a one-point-of-use multi-modal mobile application which brings together every public and private transport service in Malta.<\/li>\n<li>Use tidal lanes, intelligent traffic lights, and digital enforcement to create priority lanes for buses and collective transport.<\/li>\n<li>Create a hybrid remote working system in the Public Service based on the concept of 60% of work being done from the office and 40% being done from home.<\/li>\n<li>New car licensing system which will see those who use their car less, pay less for their licence.<\/li>\n<li>Revise every Local Plan in Malta and Gozo.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Energy &amp; Water<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Sustain energy subsidies and start a campaign towards renewable energy so the burden of subsidies decreases.<\/li>\n<li>Remove the rental of electricity metres from every residence, NGO, and for the agricultural sector.<\/li>\n<li>Reduce the cost of every residence&rsquo;s electricity bill.<\/li>\n<li>Reach the aim of 30% of Malta&rsquo;s energy being renewable by 2030.<\/li>\n<li>Invest in solar canopies above schools, parking areas, and industrial zones.<\/li>\n<li>Open the process for the concept of Solar Rights.<\/li>\n<li>Explore the possibility of the third and fourth interconnector, including with North Africa.<\/li>\n<li>Implement a pilot project to incentivise methods where rain water goes directly into the water table in order to strengthen it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Gozo<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Increase the size of the Mgarr harbour, and start work to identify a site for a second, small alternative port in Gozo.<\/li>\n<li>Commission two new ferry ships &ndash; one for passengers and one for merchandise &ndash; which would operate by 2029.&nbsp; <\/li>\n<li>Restart the mercantile route between Mgarr and the Grand Harbour within the first year of being elected.<\/li>\n<li>Recognise Gozo as a region within Malta&rsquo;s constitution within the first year of being elected.<\/li>\n<li>Open a Destination Management Organisation as an independent entity for Gozo which would be responsible for implementing the island&rsquo;s tourism policy.<\/li>\n<li>Do a Carrying Capacity for both Gozo and Comino.<\/li>\n<li>Turn Gozo into a Net-Zero Island by 2040.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Tourism<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Shift tourism policy from &ldquo;volume&rdquo; to &ldquo;value&rdquo;.<\/li>\n<li>Introduce a national &ldquo;carrying capacity&rdquo; framework.<\/li>\n<li>Reduce VAT for restaurants from 18% to 7%.<\/li>\n<li>Crack down on illegal short-let accommodation (Airbnb-style rentals).<\/li>\n<li>Reposition Malta as a cultural and quality destination.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Culture<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Create the &ldquo;Malta Cultural District&rdquo; in the Marsa\/Grand Harbour area.<\/li>\n<li>Give artists proper professional and legal status.<\/li>\n<li>Major investment in arts education and creative careers.<\/li>\n<li>Reform cultural governance with transparency and meritocracy.<\/li>\n<li>Strengthen Malta&rsquo;s film and audiovisual industry.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Environment<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A real park for every locality.<\/li>\n<li>Stronger powers for the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA).<\/li>\n<li>Mandatory climate adaptation in all planning.<\/li>\n<li>Create a nationwide green and nature protection network.<\/li>\n<li>A 24\/7 national veterinary hospital.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Agriculture<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>National framework for fair farm pricing.<\/li>\n<li>Expansion of the New Water network.<\/li>\n<li>National agricultural land bank.<\/li>\n<li>Public procurement favouring Maltese produce. <\/li>\n<li>National food security plan.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Governance<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Creation of a Volunteer Reserve Force within the AFM<\/li>\n<li>Commission a Malta Labour Shift Study in the first week, a Malta Population Level Plan in the first five months, and a National Capacity Plan with clear aims on population.<\/li>\n<li>Make an online interview for all TCNs applying for a work permit an obligation.<\/li>\n<li>Create Permanent Committees within Parliament for Constitutional Reform and for Ombudsman Reports respectively.<\/li>\n<li>Introduce a law on Unexplained Wealth.<\/li>\n<li>More rules for Persons of Trust, transparent system for appointments of CEOs of public entities and authorities.<\/li>\n<li>Establish a National Plan with clear aims on investigation and prosecution of corruption cases.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Malta in the international world<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ensure that Malta has a clear voice, in conformity with its constitutional neutrality.<\/li>\n<li>Malta will have a clear direction in favour of international law, holding big and small countries to the same standard.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p><i>Additional reporting by Katrina Cassar<\/i><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>RSS Feed Source: Independent Malta <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.com.mt\/articles\/2026-05-18\/local-news\/PN-promises-11-5km-metro-line-with-eight-stations-and-ten-trains-within-five-years-6736289825\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PN promises 11.5km metro with 8 stations and 10 trains within 5 years in new electoral programme<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>PN promises 11.5km metro with 8 stations and 10 trains within 5 years in new electoral programme The Nationalist Party has made an 11.5-kilometre metro line within five years its keynote transport pledge, as it&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2139],"tags":[1850],"class_list":["post-84366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-malta-news","tag-abatement"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shopsofmalta.com\/malta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84366"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shopsofmalta.com\/malta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shopsofmalta.com\/malta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shopsofmalta.com\/malta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shopsofmalta.com\/malta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84366"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.shopsofmalta.com\/malta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84366\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shopsofmalta.com\/malta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shopsofmalta.com\/malta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shopsofmalta.com\/malta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}