Work on final stations of MRT-7 to start next year

THE Department of Transportation (DoTr) said civil works for the last two stations of the Metro Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT-7) will start next year.

“Civil works for the Tala Station and San Jose del Monte Station are expected in 2026 and will be completed in the fourth quarter of 2028,” DoTr Spokesperson for Business Infrastructure Maricar L. Bautista said at a forum last week.

The DoTr and the city government of San Jose del Monte, Bulacan agreed in March to the new location of the MRT-7 station in that city.

The San Jose del Monte stop will now be located near the boundary of San Jose del Monte and north Caloocan, instead of the initial site, which was near the Muzon-Tungkong Mangga Road intersection.

Last year, the DoTr said the MRT-7, a project of San Miguel Corp. (SMC), is experiencing delays due to the right-of-way issues in San Jose del Monte.

MRT-7, which will have 14 stops, will run from Quezon City to San Jose del Monte, and is expected to carry 300,000 passengers daily in its first year, and up to 850,000 passengers a day by the 12th year.

The first 12 stations of the MRT-7 will be fully operational by 2027, Ms. Bautista said.

SMC is financing the construction and will operate the 23-kilometer commuter rail system under a 25-year concession agreement.

In April, SMC, through its wholly owned unit SMC MRT-7 Corp., signed an operations and maintenance services deal with Korea Railroad Corp. to fast-track the development of MRT-7.

According to the Public-Private Partnership Center, the project was originally scheduled for completion in 2019.

This timeline was delayed, and partial operations were then targeted for the fourth quarter of 2021, a deadline which was not met. — Ashley Erika O. Jose