Common MRT-LRT station expected to open by 2027 

The long-delayed Unified Grand Central Station, also known as the Common Station, is expected to open by 2027, Department of Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon said in a report by Manila Standard.

“The project has been going on for more than a decade. I think it’s more than 15 years,” Dizon said.

“I think this is one of the legacies that President Marcos is going to leave behind that finally, during his term, the Common Station will be completed by 2027,” he said.

The agency earlier canceled the contract of BF Corp. and Foresight Development and Surveying Co. (BFC-FDSC) for the Common Station project due to excessive construction delays.

The termination followed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directives to accelerate and complete the common station, which has been under construction since 2009 to ease commuter travel times.

Dizon said the Common Station, designed to link LRT-1, MRT-3 and MRT-7, could have already benefited commuters if not for the prolonged delays.

He expressed optimism that construction could restart quickly through the New Government Procurement Act or the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Code.

The P2.8-billion Common Station features a 13,700-square-meter concourse area that will seamlessly connect the rail lines of LRT-1, MRT-3, MRT-7, and the upcoming Metro Manila Subway.

The project had been stalled since 2009, but former DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade resolved a dispute over its location, leading to a groundbreaking in September 2017.

Once operational, the Common Station is projected to serve about 478,000 passengers daily.