MVP suggests solution to train station row

MANILA, Philippines - Infrastructure giant Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) is suggesting that a station be constructed in the middle of SM North EDSA and Trinoma Mall to end the impasse on the proposed Metro Rail Transit (MRT) and Light Rail Transit (LRT) common station.

MPIC chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said in an interview with reporters that the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) should consider putting a common station in the middle of the two malls.

“That is what we suggested. There could be one exit to Trinoma and one exit to SM,”  Pangilinan  said.

Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya has been pushing for the construction of a second common station in front of SM North EDSA that would interconnect LRT-1 and the proposed P63-billion MRT-7 of Universal LRT Corp. (ULC) owned by San Miguel Holdings Corp. of diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC).

The DOTC has earlier picked Trinoma Mall of conglomerate Ayala Corp. as the site of the P1.4-billion common station to house MRT-3 along EDSA and LRT-1 from Taft Ave.

The transfer of the proposed  common station to the Trinoma Mall instead of SM

City North EDSA is still pending with the Supreme Court.

SM Prime has obtained a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the Supreme Court preventing the DOTC from transferring the location of the common train station in front of Trinoma Mall instead of SM City North EDSA based on an agreement in 2009

MPIC president Jose Ma. K. Lim said putting up two common stations would be inefficient.

“What we heard was that there are two stations which we think is not very efficient. There should be one station for all three lines- LRT-1, MRT-7, and MRT-3,” Lim added.

MPIC and the Ayala Group are partners in Light Rail Manila Consortium that was awarded the P65-billion LRT-1 Cavite extension project that would extend the mass transit system all the way to Niog in Bacoor, Cavite from Baclaran in Pasay City.

The lead member of the group is MPIC through MPIC Light Rail Corp. with 55 percent followed by Ayala’s AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp. with 35 percent and Macquaire Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) Pte Ltd. with 10 percent.

In 2008, the DOTC and ULC signed a contract to build the 22.8-kilometer rail system from North Ave. corner EDSA in Quezon City, passing through Commonwealth Ave., Regalado Ave. and Quirino Highway up to the proposed Intermodal Transportation Terminal in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan

The MRT-7 project is expected to carry two million passengers a year. SMC is in the middle of completing the financial closing for the project.