North Triangle Common Station

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For the nearby MRT Line 3 station it intends to replace, see North Avenue station (MRT).

North Triangle Common Station
North Avenue UGCS (Area B and C construction) 2021-06-22.jpg
The construction progress of the station in June 2021
Other namesNorth Avenue Common Station, Unified Grand Central Common Station
LocationEDSA cor. North Avenue, Bagong Pag-asa, Diliman, Quezon City
Owned byDepartment of Transportation
Metro Rail Transit Corporation
Operated byDepartment of Transportation
Light Rail Manila Corporation
Metro Rail Transit Corporation
SMC-Mass Rail Transit 7 Incorporated
Line(s)     Line 1
     Line 3
     Line 7
Platforms3 side platforms for Line 1, Line 3, and Line 7
Tracks7 Standard-gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) tracks (1 track each for Line 1 and Line 3, 3 tracks for Line 7
Construction
Structure typeElevated
ParkingYes (TriNoma, SM City North EDSA)
Other information
StatusUnder construction
History
Opening2022[1]
Previous namesMetro Manila Integrated Rail Terminal
Services
Preceding station Manila LRT Following station
Terminus Line 1 Roosevelt
towards Baclaran
Preceding station Manila MRT Following station
Terminus Line 3 Quezon Avenue
towards Taft Avenue
Quezon Memorial
towards San Jose del Monte
 Line 7 Terminus

The North Triangle Common Station[2][3] (official temporary designation: Unified Grand Central Station,[4] also called Grand Central Station), commonly known as the Common Station, is an under-construction[5] rapid transit terminal and transport hub that will connect LRT Line 1, MRT Line 3, and MRT Line 7.[6] It is located in Bagong Pag-asa, Quezon City, Philippines, and is named after its location, which is at the corner of EDSA and North Avenue.[7]

The common alignment had been in limbo for years since the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), now Department of Transportation (DOTr), reviewed the project's technical and financial components.[8] It was in January 2017 that an agreement was reached to build the station. The groundbreaking of the station was held at the North Triangle Transport Terminal on September 29, 2017. The station was expected to open in 2020,[9] but was delayed to 2021.

History[]

Negotiations[]

On June 2, 2011, the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) called for bidders for the contract to build the station, which was estimated to cost ₱1.5 billion.[6] But on July 13 of that year, then-Secretary of Transportation and Communications Mar Roxas announced a review of the project and considering adding store space for lease. The government, by that time, had allotted 2 billion pesos for its construction.[7]

On July 22, 2012, the government shelved the project indefinitely due to the Philippine financial crisis in favor of demolition of the tracks and pillars.[10] Secretary Roxas said that the station was being studied by engineers because the MRT-3's original plans did not include the station, and that problems with the line's timing system may arise. He included that in the event that the station does not go through, the 200 million pesos paid by SM Prime Holdings, Inc., the operator of SM City North EDSA and other SM Malls, to the Light Rail Transit Authority for naming rights may have to be returned.

However, at the start of the year 2013, Roxas' successor new Transportation and Communications secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya cites that the government has cancelled and abandoned the project indefinitely because the construction of the common station was supposed to be completed back in May 2010 during the presidency of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo but disputes over cost, engineering issues and naming rights caused due to the halting of the project by Arroyo's successor President Benigno Aquino III on January 2, 2013.

On January 9, 2013, Abaya cites that the government has filed for the candidacies for three sites of the common station linking three rapid transit systems for Metro Manila, DOTC is not keen on build the common station in front of the Annex Building of the SM City North EDSA Shopping Mall, adding that other potential locations are the TriNoma Mall and the Line 1 Malvar station in Caloocan. Abaya said the agency is awaiting the results of a study that would determine the final location of the common station. He had said the original design near SM City North EDSA Annex was "ineffective and costly" because the rails of Line 3 would have to be extended and trains would have to be added.[11]

On November 21, 2013, the NEDA board, chaired by President Benigno Aquino III, approved the construction of a common station within North Avenue between SM City North EDSA and TriNoma, estimated to cost 1.4 billion pesos. The station was set to feature head-to-head platforms for LRT 1 and MRT 3 trains with a 147.4 m (484 ft) elevated walkalator to MRT 7,[12] inconsistent with the original plan of having seamless connectivity to Monumento and is also an unusual arrangement of having two train stations beside each other.[13] Secretary Abaya said that SM would be able to keep the naming rights for the station, even if it is transferred near rival Ayala's TriNoma mall.[14] This led to the change of the station's location, which was initially set to be near SM City North EDSA, earning the ire of the group of the country's largest mall operator SM Prime Holdings Inc., which paid an initial P200 million for the naming rights of the station.

Transportation officials have repeatedly said building the station near TriNoma is both economically and environmentally viable, as this would result in a lower cost and less urban blight.

SM Prime then brought its battle to the Supreme Court, which issued a stay order against the DOTC and the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) in June 2014, enjoining them to stop the transfer of the common alignment's location.[8][15][16]

Agreement[]

At a business forum held on August 12, 2016, Department of Transportation (now abbreviated as DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade said that all stakeholders namely Metro Pacific Corporation, SMC-Mass Rail Transit 7 Inc. of San Miguel Corporation, SM Prime Holdings, and Ayala Corporation had agreed in principle that the common station will be built in North Avenue between the Southeast end of SM North EDSA and North side of the TriNoma Mall.[17] Negotiations took about 8 years for the station to be built near SM North EDSA and TriNoma.[18]

A memorandum of agreement was signed by the station's stakeholders on January 18, 2017.[4]

Construction[]

Area A construction progress in October 2021 with an MRTC 3000 class train in the background
Area B construction progress in January 2020
Area C construction progress in August 2021
Construction progress of the station in three different areas

The groundbreaking ceremony of the station was held on September 29, 2017, marking the start of construction.[16] It is planned to be completed in the last quarter of 2022. Three areas were designated for the project with each area with its own developers. Area A which will host a platform and concourse for Lines 1 and 3 will be developed by the Department of Transportation. Area B, which covers two concourses that will connect Areas A and C will be developed by North Triangle Depot Commercial Corporation, an affiliate of Ayala Land. San Miguel Corporation will develop and finance Area C which will host the Line 7 platform. By January 2017, the projected cost for the station is ₱2.8 billion.[18][19]

The construction of Area A is carried out by the consortium of BF Corporation and Foresight Development and Surveying Company. The contract for the construction of Area A was signed on February 13, 2019.[20]

As of May 2021, the station is 51% complete.[21] The soft opening of the station is slated for March 2022,[1] and full operations will begin in the fourth quarter of 2022.[22][23]

Naming[]

In 2009, SM Prime Holdings which owns SM North EDSA secured naming rights for the station by paying ₱200 million while Ayala which owns TriNoma contributed ₱150 million which also made it eligible for naming rights.[4] In January 2017, it was agreed that naming rights of both SM Prime Holdings and Ayala will be honored and until the two companies agreed upon a name, the station shall be temporarily called as the Unified Grand Central Station.[4]

Station layout[]

The station is divided into three primary areas: A, B, and C. Area A hosts a platform and concourse for Lines 1 and 3. Area B will connect Areas A and C. Area C hosts a platform and concourse for Line 7.[18]

Area A[]

L2
Side platform, doors will open on the right
Platform A MRT Line 3 towards Taft Avenue (←)
Platform B MRT Line 3 towards Taft Avenue (←)
Island platform, doors will open on either the left or the right
Platform B LRT Line 1 towards Baclaran (→)
Platform C LRT Line 1 towards Baclaran (→)
Side platform, doors will open on the right
L1 Concourse Connection to Area B

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "DOTr eyes closure of EDSA-North Avenue to facilitate Grand Central Station completion". GMA News. December 8, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  2. ^ "Take a look at the North Avenue Common Station project". philkotse.com. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  3. ^ "North Triangle Common Station". Visionarch. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d Gonzales, Yuji Vincent (January 19, 2017). "What will the MRT-LRT common station be called?". Inquirer.net. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  5. ^ Jiao, Claire (September 29, 2017). "LRT-MRT common station breaks ground". CNN Philippines. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  6. ^ a b Montecillo, Paolo G. (June 5, 2011). "Bidders for LRT-MRT central station sought". Inquirer.net. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
  7. ^ a b Montecillo, Paolo G. (July 13, 2011). "DOTC reviews MRT-LRT central station project". Inquirer.net. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  8. ^ a b Marasigan, Lorenz S. (February 25, 2015). "SM ready to end feud with Ayala". BusinessMirror.
  9. ^ Marcelo, Patrizia Paola C. (September 18, 2017). "MRT-LRT common station to break ground on Sept. 29". BusinessWorld.
  10. ^ VENZON, CLIFF HARVEY (July 23, 2012). "Central station near SM North shelved". BusinessWorld. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  11. ^ Amojelar, Darwin G. (January 9, 2013). "DOTC to choose among 3 possible sites for common train station". Archived from the original on February 2, 2017.
  12. ^ Tan, Kimberly Jane (November 21, 2013). "NEDA approves MRT 7, LRT-1 extension projects". GMA News and Public Affairs. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  13. ^ Marasigan, Gelo; Remitio, Rex (September 28, 2016). "Finally: A common station for LRT, MRT lines". CNN Philippines. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  14. ^ "MRT-LRT common station to be located at Trinoma". ABS-CBN News. April 22, 2014.
  15. ^ Flores, Mikhail Franz; dela Paz, Chrisee Jalyssa (August 2, 2014). "High court stops transfer of common train station site". BW. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
  16. ^ a b Fe, Kaye (September 29, 2017). "Construction of P2.8-B Grand Unified Central Station to begin after almost a decade of delay". Eagle News. Eagle Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  17. ^ Camus, Miguel R. (August 13, 2016). "Common railway station row resolved". Inquirer.net.
  18. ^ a b c Ong, Jennifer (January 19, 2017). "MRT, LRT Common Station Construction To Start In 2017". International Business Times. IBT Media Inc. Archived from the original on January 31, 2017. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  19. ^ GMA News (January 18, 2017). Common station na magkokonekta sa LRT1, MRT3 at MRT7, sisimulan sa Disyembre. YouTube. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  20. ^ Valdez, Denise A. (February 13, 2019). "Contracting arrangements finalized for common station". BusinessWorld. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  21. ^ Casilao, Joahna Lei (May 16, 2021). "Common station now 51% complete –DOTr's Tugade". GMA News Online. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  22. ^ Rey, Aika (April 26, 2021). "LRT-MRT common station partial operations postponed to Q4 2021". Rappler. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  23. ^ Pelayo, Marje (March 24, 2021). "LRT-MRT Common Station approaching 50% completion — DOTr - UNTV News". UNTV News. Retrieved April 3, 2021.

Coordinates: 14°39′21″N 121°1′41″E / 14.65583°N 121.02806°E / 14.65583; 121.02806

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