MANILA (UPDATED) - The government on Friday broke ground on a common station that will serve hundreds of thousands of commuters using the country's railways and planned subway system.

The P2.8-billion structure, which will be built between the SM North Edsa and Trinoma shopping malls, will be completed in 2019, the Department of Transportation said in a statement.

The common station will interconnect lines 1 and 2 of the Light Rail Transit, Metro Rail Transit line 3 and the soon to be built MRT line 7 and the Mega Manila Subway, the department said.

The ground level of the common station will be used by buses, jeeps and Asian utility vehicles, according to the statement.

Construction on the common station was held back by a decade due to a dispute on its location. -- with Jacque Manabat, ABS-CBN News