Senate starts probe on MRT-LRT common station

BREAKING GROUND Artist’s sketch of the railway common station that is expected to be
constructed starting this December —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Will the construction of a common station that would link three of the Metro’s rail systems result in higher fares?

On Monday, the Senate committee on public services jointly with the committee on public works launched its inquiry on the P2.8 billion common station project for the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) 3, Light Rail Transit (LRT) 1, and the soon-to-rise MRT 7.

The inquiry was initiated by Senator Grace Poe, who presided over the hearing as chair of the committee on public services.

“As chair of the Senate committee on public services, which has jurisdiction on matters related to transportation, it is imperative that we conduct this legislative inquiry as we and the public deserve to know: one, the pros and cons of the design; two, the amount of taxpayers’ money and private sector participation involved; and three, why the project cost has tripled since it was first introduced,” Poe said in her opening statement.

“Let me be clear about this, we are conducting this hearing not to further stall the project, which had been in limbo for nearly eight years. We do not want to contribute to further delays of its construction. After all, this project had its adequate share of problems, going through a protracted process, and we do not want to prolong the suffering of the commuting public, who are always at the receiving end of nightmarish traffic conditions on EDSA, of other major thoroughfares, and of a dysfunctional public transportation system,” she said.

The project was first slated to be constructed in 2009 but faced legal questions because of its locations.

After nearly eight years, a memorandum of agreement that would pave the way for the construction of the project was finally signed last January 18. The construction of the common train station will reportedly commence in the last quarter of this year and is expected to be completed by April 2019.

READ: DOTr inks MOA for construction of LRT-MRT common station

Poe said the inquiry seeks to determine, among others, if the design of the project was “proportionate” to the amount of public money involved,” noting that the P2.8 billion budget was a “lot more than the P778-million proposal when the project was introduced in 2009 in a different location, and from the P1.4-billion proposal in 2014.”

The inquiry, she said, also seeks to know if the size of 13,700 square meters of the common station would result in passenger convenience and would be able to accommodate the millions of passengers expected to use the three platforms daily in the future.

“And ultimately, whether this particular project would result in higher fares for the three elevated railway systems,” she said.

“We also seek to address the concerns of senior citizens, pregnant women, and persons with disabilities on the distance to transfer from one platform to another,” the senator added. CBB/rga