After years of legal wrangling, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) reached a consensus among shareholders to identify a single location for the Common Station connecting the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1, MRT-3, and the proposed MRT-7.
The Common Station, which will be built between SM North EDSA and Trinoma with access to both malls and major roads such as EDSA, will provide a common concourse or atrium where train commuters can conveniently transfer from one line to another.
An agreement between the DOTr, Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA), SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SMPHI), Universal LRT Corp. and Light Rail Manila Consortium, North Triangle Depot Commercial Corp represented by Ayala Land, Inc., and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) was signed on Sept 28 to finalize the agreement.
The DPWH said an underpass to be built will seamlessly integrate with the Common Station.
Getting all parties to agree is among Transport Secretary Arthur Tugade’s targets within the first 100 days of the new administration. In a meeting last Sept. 8, the CEOs of SM (Tessie Sy Coson and Hans Sy), Ayala (Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala), San Miguel (Ramon Ang), and Metro Pacific (Manuel Pangilinan) agreed that a unified station is necessary to make commuting more convenient to the public.
The Common Station project began in 2009 but has been on hold due to legal issues. The LRTA inked a deal with SMPHI to build the station near SM North EDSA. Five years later, the DOTC (until recently the previous name of the DOTr) decided to build the Station near Ayala’s Trinoma citing reasons to cut costs. The Supreme Court (SC) intervened and issued a temporary restraining order in favor of SMPHI to stop the construction of the Common Station.
The Sept 28 agreement will pave the way for a filing of a joint motion to the SC to lift the TRO, according to DOTr.
