Two major railway projects are targeted to be partially operational this year, according to the Department of Transportation.
In his presentation during the Duterte Legacy Summit last week, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said the MRT-7 and the common station projects are slated to start partial operations this year.
“Yung MRT-7 malapit na hong matapos yan. We expect partial operations by 2022,” Tugade said.
San Miguel Corp. announced last week that construction for the MRT-7 train depot in a 20-hectare property in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan has already commenced.
The train depot has enough capacity to accommodate up to 150 train cars and will also house essential facilities dedicated to the maintenance and operations of the trains.
Tugade said said the 22-kilometer MRT-7 would reduce travel time between Quezon City and Bulacan from two to three hours to just 35 minutes once it becomes fully operational by 2023.
“Remember the common station? That was a major problem when the Duterte administration got in,” Tugade also said.
“Target namin na yung Common Station will be partly operational by 2022, ” he said.
The 13,700 square meter concourse area will interconnect four major railway lines: LRT-1, MRT-3, MRT-7, and soon, the Metro Manila Subway.
Once operational, the common station can accommodate almost 500,000 passengers daily.
