By Emmie V. Abadilla

After three administrations and eight years of delay, the building of the P2.8-billion Common Station, linking 3 overhead railways (MRT-3, LRT-1, MRT-7) plus the future Metro Manila Subway, can begin this October.

Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade thanked the private shareholders for “setting aside their differences for the common good” in yesterday’s groundbreaking ceremony in Quezon City.

The Common Station, originally known as the North Extension Project, hit a deadlock after the proponents – SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SMPHI), Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI), San Miguel Corp. (SMC), and the Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC) – failed to identify and agree on a common location. The project also got a lot of flak in Congress.

That was until a year ago, after the parties signed a Term Sheet outlining the general principles of the agreed upon location.

After extensive discussions, they came up with a Memorandum of Agreement covering the design parameters, service level requirements, along with the responsibilities and contributions of the parties involved in the project.

Each proponent made a commitment to follow timelines and deliver the Common Station on schedule.

Now, the 13,700-square-meter Common Station between SM North EDSA and Trinoma will have a spacious concourse to facilitate the transfer of passengers from one line to another.

In fact, the bulk of its almost P3-billion project course will be allocated for expanding the concourse area to accommodate future expected increases in ridership with the pending completion of MRT-7 (North EDSA – San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan), LRT-1 Extension to Cavite and the Subway (Mindanao Avenue – NAIA).

Overall, it is expected to serve 478,000 passengers daily by 2020.

The Common Station’s design also ensures a defined level of service by all parties, convenient walk in the platform, bigger space, plus connection between two major malls.

In addition, the project will deliver dual tracks for the LRT-1, MRT-3 and MRT-7 for increased operational efficiency.

The ground level of the Common Station will service road-based PUVs for intermodal interoperability, allowing not just seamless railway-to-railway transfers but also railway-to-bus-to-jeep-to-AUV transfers.

It is a “great gift to the riding public,” says Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, who represented President Duterte in the ground breaking.

And “It will be a game changer for mass transport in Metro Manila,” noted LRMC President and CEO Rogelio Singson. Passengers of LRT-1, of which LRMC is a shareholder, can now travel from Quezon City to Baclaran in under an hour.

When the extension project is completed, passengers from Cavite can reach Quezon City in an hour.

“We will go full blast with the construction,” pledged President and CEO ALI Bobby Dy.

ALI committed to start building the Common Station by next month.

“We have been waiting for this for so long. We will make sure we will follow timelines,” stressed SMC’s Manuel Bonoan.