As we all know, our country is planning on investing on the railways that our country currently has. More so, they are planning to increase its efficiency and effcitivity to further aid our society in terms of transportation. So would this mean that there will be a common station where four (4) major Metro Manila Railways will meet? Fortunately, yes and it’s going to be called the Unified Grand Central Station or the UGCS.
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) said that they are currently looking to have this project completed by the year 2020. This project, which will be the common station that will connect four (4) lines of railways in Metro Manila. So, without further ado, let’s discuss what this project is all about.
It is known as the Unified Grand Central Station (UGCS) and this facility is currently being built at the intersection of the North Avenue in Quezon City and EDSA.
Which trains will the UGCS link?
As per news, it will link the following stations:
- The Manila Metro Rail Transit System (MRT-3)
- Manila Metro Rail Transit System (MRT-7)
- The Light Railt Transit System (LRT-1)
- The Metro Manila Subway
Once the UGCS station is built, there will be an easier and a more efficient way when traveling in and around the Metro and the towns, cities, municipalities around it.
Timothy Batan, DOTr Undersecretary for the Railways said that the expected capacity of the UGCS has been upped to a total of 1.2 million passengers. Initially, the plan was that it’s going to be only at 500,000 but after their observations and their studies, they increased its cap to a million.
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How big would the station be?
According to DOTr, this common station would be around 13,700 square meters to accommodate the expected number of people per instance. This was increased too because the initial plan was that it’s going to be 7,000 square meters ONLY and was made bigger because of the fact that they are planning to add on different extra facilities for the subway and the station.
To make things easier for the users and for the employees of the facility, there will be a total of three (3) sections or divisions in the station. They are going to be named as Areas A, B, and C.
What is Area A going to offer?
Batan further explains that area A is going to be utilized as the councourse for the MRT-3 and the LRT-1. Meaning, this will be the platform where these two railways are going to be connected. They awarded this construction project to BF Corporation.
What is Area B going to offer?
This specific area, however, will be for the Ayala Corp. They will be building the Area B beside the nation-known mall, the Trinoma Mall. Area B is going tobe the platform that would connect Areas A and C.
What about Area C?
Lastly, but most definitely not the least, Area C is going to be beside the SM North EDSA Mall and this will serve as the platform for the MRT-7. The government awarded this project to San Miguel Corp and is set to be completed based on their projections.
The timelines of completion
As per the DOTr, they are expecting that the Common Station project is going to be completed by the year 2022. Area A, however, they are looking for it to be completed by the year 2020.
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Further to that, the department said that they’ve split the finishing time of the Areas due to legal disputes concerning the location where the common station was supposed be built in.
The construction of the project is ought to start within the next three (3) months and will continue for the next twenty (20) months.
Lucenda Vergara, BF Corporation General Manager, siad that they will be having a challenge controlling the flow of traffic in the area where the construction is ongoing.
The mobility will be, of course, limited because of the location of the project.”
On the other hand, Arthur Tugade, Transportation Secretary, said that while the UGCS construction is on its way, they are still having problems with the construction of the MRT-7.
Yung problema ko na lang diyan so far, yung depot. (My only problem there, so far, is the depot.)”
Last year, the department made announcements concerning the construction of the MRT-7 and according to them, it was ought to be finished by August 2019. Because of this, it might be delayed for the next year.
Read: Future Projection of Railway Public Transport Around The Metro
Tugade explains that the land which is 33 hectares in San Jose Del Monte in the province of Bulacan, is still stuck with a court case. This is the land where the depot is going to be built.
Planong 'subway' sa Metro Manila, masisimulan na bago magtapos ang 2018 ayon kay Department of Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade. pic.twitter.com/ZDweRc5FUr
— DZMM TeleRadyo (@DZMMTeleRadyo) February 3, 2018
What other railway projects are going to be built other than the Unified Grand Central Station?
Other than the UGCS, other projects include the Metro Manila subway, which has been delayed several times because of legal disputes too, and the North-South Commuter Railway which will be connecting Metro Manila, CALABARZON, and Central Luzon.
Hopefully, all of these projects are going to be effective and successful because all of these are going to be made to aid commuters in their daily travels.
More so, the common station should be able to successfully accommodate the need of the people who commute daily.
