House panel to inspect MRT-LRT common station site Wednesday | Inquirer News

House panel to inspect MRT-LRT common station site Wednesday

/ 07:49 PM January 29, 2017

The planned MRT-LRT common station at north Edsa (Photo from the Department of Transportation)

The planned MRT-LRT common station at north Edsa (Photo from the Department of Transportation)

MANILA — The House committee on Metro Manila development will inspect this Wednesday (Feb. 1) the proposed site of the railway common station at north Edsa in Quezon City.

This could determine if lawmakers should withhold funding and urge the government to scrap the recently inked deal, the committee chairperson, Quezon City 2nd Dist. Rep. Winston Castelo, said.

Article continues after this advertisement

Castelo said lawmakers would have to check first the “seamlessness” of the proposed common station linking Metro Rail Transit Line 3, Light Rail Transit Line 1, and the future MRT-7 at the parking lot between SM City North EDSA and TriNoma malls.

FEATURED STORIES

He said the convenience of the commuters who would have to walk to change railway lines would be the “overriding factor” in determining the House’s concurrence with the Jan. 18 memorandum of agreement.

“That’s the very purpose of our inspection on Wednesday—to determine whether or not to honor the MoA or to fund whatever financial requirement is there in the MoA or not,” Castelo said in a radio interview on Sunday.

Article continues after this advertisement

“If Congress will not fund it, there will be no MoA at all to speak of,” he said.

Article continues after this advertisement

Castelo said Congress would “insist that this benefit the commuters so they would not have to walk” long distances.

Article continues after this advertisement

He pointed out that the new MoA had not only lengthened the walking distance, it also bloated the station’s cost to P2 billion, from the original P700 million (P200 million of which was supposed to be shouldered by SM Prime Holdings, Inc., in exchange for naming rights).

He stressed the need to scrutinize the deal because almost 800,000 commuters would use the common station daily.

Article continues after this advertisement

Under a 2009 agreement between the Light Rail Transit Authority and SM Prime, the station was supposed to be located along SM City North EDSA Annex, nearer to LRT-1 than TriNoma.

But, the then-Department of Transportation and Communications in 2013 moved the common station across TriNoma, lengthening the distance commuters needed to walk to change train lines.

This led to a legal fight as SM Prime sued the government for breach of contract, and the Supreme Court’s July 2014 temporary restraining order has since stalled the project.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

The government this January finalized a MoA to appease both the SM and Ayala-owned malls by placing the common station between the two.  SFM

TAGS: commuters, House of Representatives, Manila, MRT Line 3, MRT-7, Railway, trains, Trinoma Mall

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our newsletter!

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

© Copyright 1997-2024 INQUIRER.net | All Rights Reserved

This is an information message

We use cookies to enhance your experience. By continuing, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more here.