The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) hopes to partially open the Unified Grand Central Station – or Common Station – by first quarter of 2028.
According to Secretary Giovanni Lopez, the Economy and Development Council recently approved the project’s variation order, allowing DOTr to target partial operations by early 2028.
Earlier, DOTr canceled the contract of BF Corp. and Foresight Development and Surveying Co. (BFC-FDSC), a company founded by the late Marikina Mayor Bayani Fernando, for the Common Station project due to excessive construction delays.
Lopez said DOTr is adopting measures to ensure commuters do not face difficulties when transferring between trains while construction of the Common Station continues.
DOTr is coordinating with Trinoma management, which pledged to provide a covered access way to MRT-3 to protect commuters from the weather.
Lopez added, “Since that won’t be completed until first quarter of 2028—because we are fixing the signaling system, which is essential for rail transport—what we are doing now is ensuring that once the North Avenue and MRT-7 stations are finished and operational, commuters can utilize the concourse and platform.”