‘Interim’ link to end common station row?

CEBU CITY—Light Rail Manila Corp., led by Ayala Corp. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp., is proposing the construction of an “interim” station in Quezon City that will link major elevated railways amid a multistakeholder dispute over its location.

Metro Pacific president Jose Ma. K. Lim told reporters on Friday that Light Rail Manila proposed that the temporary station be located in the “middle” of SM Group’s SM City North Edsa and Ayala Land Inc.’s Trinoma shopping mall.

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) is currently playing with the idea of building two “common stations,” one each near the properties of SM and Trinoma. This was after the SM Group sued the transportation department before the Supreme Court in 2014 for deciding that the station be located near Trinoma, an alleged breach of a contract signed in 2009.

The DOTC had just awarded the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) Cavite extension public- private partnership deal to Light Rail Manila that same year.

The location mattered to Light Rail Manila since uncertainties over the site, which would serve as a link between LRT-1, Metro Rail Transit Line 3 and eventually the MRT-7 project of San Miguel Corp., would have an impact on LRT-1’s railway operations, which it assumed in September last year.

“What we are proposing is an interim station,” Lim told reporters. “So the convenience of the public could be accelerated.”

The suggestion was also consistent with an earlier statement by Metro Pacific chair Manuel V. Pangilinan that a single connecting station made more sense for the riding public instead of building two facilities serving a similar purpose hundreds of meters apart. Pangilinan said this was akin to the model employed by Hong Kong’s MTR Corp.

“If the interim station concept becomes acceptable, then it can become a permanent station. It’s possible if you can get all parties to agree,” Lim said.

He acknowledged all stakeholders still needed to approve the plan.

San Miguel Corp.-backed Universal LRT Corp. had signaled it was open to talks. However, it was uncertain how this new plan would impact the MRT-7 project, since that project’s concession agreement called for the connecting station to be located near the SM City Annex.

The DOTC said last week the MRT-7 project was set to break ground on Wednesday, April 20.

A train station is a coveted infrastructure because of the foot traffic it delivers to nearby establishments.

The SM Group earlier raised its concern over the DOTC’s decision to unilaterally move major infrastructure sites like a railway station’s location. SM Investments Corp. vice chair Teresita Sy-Coson said this made it difficult for the businesses to plan ahead given abrupt changes in the government’s infrastructure roadmap.

Transportation Secretary Joseph Abaya said earlier he hoped to resolve the issue before the term of President Aquino ends in June 2016.