DOTr Acting Sec. Giovanni Lopez. Photo courtesy of Connie Calipay/ Philippine News Agency (PNA).
Contrary to circulating reports that only 13 stations will push through, the Department of Transportation (DoTr) clarified that the US$1.6 billion (approximately ₱81.5 billion) Metro Rail Transit 7 (MRT-7) project will operate with 14 stations, including its Bulacan station in San Jose del Monte (SJDM).
According to the transportation secretary Giovanni ‘Banoy’ Lopez, “the San Jose del Monte (SJDM) Station remains part of the MRT-7 project and has not been removed from the approved alignment.”
Earlier, Lopez had announced that MRT-7’s operations of the 12 stations (from Sacred Heart to North Avenue) will begin by the second quarter of 2027 while the completion and opening of Tala and SJDM stations are slated for 2028.
The 22-kilometer railway project consists of 14 stations: Quezon North Avenue Joint Station, Quezon Memorial Circle, University Avenue, Tandang Sora, Don Antonio, Batasan, Manggahan, Doña Carmen, Regalado, Mindanao Avenue, Quirino, Sacred Heart, Tala and SJDM.
“Once fully operational, the train line is expected to benefit 300,000 passengers daily, cutting travel time from two to three hours to just 35 minutes,” Lopez pointed out.