DoTr completing train systems by 2021

TRANSPORTATION Secretary Arthur Tugade inspects the construction site of the LRT 1 in Parañaque with other officials who gave the contractors six days to fix all hindrances delaying the project. DAVID JOHN CUBANGBANG @tribunephl_dvd

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade announced on Tuesday that the various railways systems being built in Metro Manila will be completed on time. He also expressed optimism that the most of the projects will be partially operational by the end of 2021.

“We put our commitment on the line. We are going to finish this because this is the mandate of the president,” he told reporters during the site inspection of the construction of the common area atrium in Quezon City.

Among the projects that will be partially open by December 2021 is the Metro Rail Transit-7 (MRT-7) extension and a common area atrium that will serve as the connecting station for the Light Rail Transit-1 (LRT-1), Metro Rail Transit-3 (MRT-3), MRT-7 and the subway system.

The MRT-7 extension is a 23-kilometer elevated railway line that will bridge 14 stations from San Jose Del Monte Bulacan to North Avenue Station.

The partial operability of LRT-1 Cavite extension, meanwhile, will be adjusted from the original December 2021 deadline to the third quarter of the same year. Tugade said the extension has long been delayed but he’s pressed the contractors to fast track the work and have it partially operational by 2021.

He also asserted that the government is making sure that road right of way will not be a hindrance. “If there’s a need to expropriate then let’s expropriate to make sure the project proceeds on time,” he said.