CALOOCAN CITY, March 24 (PIA) — The Department of Transportation on Wednesday announced that the LRT-MRT Common Station, that should have linked the Light Rail Transit (LRT) with the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) some seven years ago during the Aquino Administration, is around 50 percent complete.

“After more than seven (7) years of delay, the OVERALL PROGRESS RATE of the COMMON STATION PROJECT now stands at 48.48%!” the DOTr said in its latest Facebook post.

Targeted to be completed on December 2021, the DOTr said the Common Station features a 13,700-square meter “concourse area,” which will “seamlessly interconnect” the rail lines of LRT-1, MRT-3, MRT-7, and the much-awaited Metro Manila Subway.

“This is a long overdue transport infrastructure project that would have considerably eased mobility of commuters in Metro Manila, particularly along the main transit routes, from Baclaran to Monumento to the entire length of EDSA,” the transportation agency added.

“And with the forthcoming MRT-7 and the Metro Manila Subway also being part of the loop, travel to Bulacan via Commonwealth, and from Valenzuela to NAIA will be faster and more convenient,” it further said.

Issues on location and indecisiveness on the part of the previous administration were reportedly among the major causes that led to the nearly a decade delay of the Common Station Project.

The Duterte administration, led by the DOTr, on the other hand, navigated through the dispute of various stakeholders of the project, including two conglomerates who were vying for better vantage point.

“And now with the established partnership and cooperation forged by our Transport Chief, the construction of the Area B (Atrium) of the Common Station was able to push through, and now is 100% complete,” the DOTr said.

“The remainder of the project is now in full, accelerated construction pace and work is done 24/7. Once operational, the Common Station is expected to serve approximately 478,000 passengers daily,” it added. (PIA NCR)