The Department of Transportation said over the weekend said it expects the common station for the four railway systems in Metro Manila to start operations by July this year.
The agency said the station building of Area A of the common station is now connected to Area B, or the Atrium, which was 100-percent completed.
The 13,700-square-meter concourse area will interconnect the four major railway lines of LRT-1, MRT-3, MRT-7, and soon, the Metro Manila Subway Project.
“Notwithstanding the fact that I did not close EDSA to traffic, notwithstanding the fact that I did not suspend or realign the operations of MRT-3, the construction of the common station’s building structure will be completed by end of March,” Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said.
Targeted to start operations by July, Tugade ordered commencement of operations at an earlier date, “without sacrificing quality of work and reasonability of cost”.
“I will henceforth, until my term ends, inspect and make sure that the electromechanical system will also be in place so that this common station—a long-time dream of the Filipino people—will come into reality. I hope it can be done during the term of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte,” Tugade said.
The project’s contractor, BF Construction, assured that it will meet the timeline set by Tugade with non-stop construction works.
BF Construction chief executive Marides Fernando said the concreting of the platform level, where the MRT-3 and LRT-1 lines are set to merge, is ongoing.
Japan Ambassador to the Philippines Kazuhiko Koshikawa lauded the relentless efforts of the DOTr to improve mobility and connectivity in the country.
“So, in the near future, I can change from the MRT-3 to the LRT-1 and MRT-7 or Metro Manila Subway via this common station. And I can go anywhere in a short time period. Needless to say that railway connectivity is indispensable for efficient transport. That’s why the opening of this common station will offer a significant level of comfort to use these railways,” Kazuhiko said.
Once operational, the common station can accommodate nearly 500,000 passengers daily.