November 12, 2026 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has resumed the construction of the Unified Grand Central Station, with partial operations expected by March 2027.
“We are confident that by the first quarter of 2028, (the central station will be completed) before President Marcos’ term ends,” DOTr Secretary Vince Dizon said on the sidelines of the site inspection.
The central station will link the Metro Manila Subway, Light Rail Transit Line 1 and Metro Rail Transit Lines 3 and 7.
Partial operations for MRT-7 are targeted in June 2027, from North Avenue to Sacred Heart Stations.
Tala and San Jose Del Monte, the remaining stations, will be completed by 2028.
By March 2028, the central station is expected to be fully operational, with accessible public utility vehicles in the area.
The Unified Grand Central Station’s construction has been delayed for several years since it began in 2007.
Last year, the DOTr issued a formal notice of termination against BF Corp. and Foresight Development and Surveying Co. Consortium, citing delays in the project’s construction.
In July, then transportation chief Giovanni Lopez announced the approval by the Economy and Development Council of a variation order for the project, which was assigned to the Light Rail Manila Corp.
In 2017, former transportation chief Arthur Tugade said the common station would be open by 2019, but it was moved to 2022 amid the pandemic.
Former transportation chief Jaime Bautista also moved the target date by the end of that year, citing technical issues.
