When we are all in dread of Monday, especially if it rains on the first day of school, as it usually does, talk turns to the traffic situation.

This is the time of the year when politicians come forth with their pet suggestions how to solve the traffic problem. They are then joined by concerned (or interested) members of the public.

Last year the flavor of the week was the tidal streams of traffic, which were tried in Paola with little noticeable impact. This year’s flavor is the light railway.

The many Maltese who go abroad may have experienced such light railways in places like Strasbourg where they cut a beautiful sight (which may explain why Dr Simon Busuttil came up with the idea).

It is a fact that we are very near to total gridlock, or rather, we may be just two days away from it. We doubt if the measures announced by Minister Joe Mizzi yesterday will be effective.

It is clear that something drastic must be done. A light railway may be the right long-term solution. It needs a dedicated lane, far more than the stop-and-start bus lanes around, and must be completely dedicated to the trains. Otherwise, the trains will fail just as the buses have failed – for they will be subject to the rest of the traffic. One huge advantage of the light railway is its speed – it arrives far ahead of the rest of the traffic.

One can visualize such a line all the way from St Julian’s along the shore to Valletta. Another line may be from Paola to Valletta and yet another (the most difficult) from Mosta to Valletta.

It is clear that the terminus cannot be fitted near City Gate, so maybe there will be a terminus at Blata l-Bajda with a very frequent one train service to Valletta.

But before we go on with this dream, it is imperative to make some points.

First of all, we can all see the general anarchy on our roads, the disregard of laws and of personal safety (as witnessed by the many accidents of these days). It is useless to seek technological improvements such as expensive and laborious road works, or light railways etc, when the general behavior of traffic is not addressed and, if need be, enforced.

Secondly, we must beware of repeating history. Malta had a railway once, but it did not address the real needs as it linked to Mtarfa (where the British had their base) but not to Paola or Mosta where the Maltese lived. And then the privately-owned buses came on the scene and they proved to be far more popular (and cheaper).

The issue is: can Malta take two systems together? If they are private ventures, they may end up eating into each other’s customer base. A city like Strasbourg can sustain two systems (there is also mainline railway) but can small Malta do so?

Still, to do nothing is to let the current very bad situation get far worse. It is just not on to just do ‘something’ – what must be done must be the right thing to do.