United Grand Central Station to Cater to 1 Million Passengers Daily Upon Completion

The United Grand Central Station (UGCS) is set to cater to more than 1 million passengers every single day once it becomes operational.

During the contract signing for the design and build of 'Area A,' Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade claimed that the 13,700-sqm Common Station would be able to serve approximately 500,000 passengers daily upon completion.

The target completion of the Area A is by 2020 and for the entire Common Station by 2022.

Located at the north end of EDSA, the Common Station will connect the four railway lines--the LRT-1, MRT-3, MRT-7, and the Metro Manila Subway--for the easy transfer of passengers from one rail line to another.

Based on the DOTr's statement, the Common Station will feature a transit area for the riding public and is operated by an automated fare collection system, which will give commuters better point-to-point mobility and comfort.

The signing ceremonies at the site was led by Tugade, alongside Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Reinier Paul Yebra. Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John Batan signed the contract on behalf of the DOTr while Lucila Gomez signed as the authorized representative of the BF Corporation and Foresight Development and Surveying Company Consortium.

Tugade said that the target to build the Common Station started during the term of then-President Gloria Arroyo (2009) but it was only in the first 100 days of President Rodrigo Duterte that all parties got involved and got to agree on a location.

While Area A is under the DOTr, the remaining areas such as B will be under Ayala Land Inc., and Area C under the MRT-7 Project facilitated by San Miguel Corporation (SMC). Since the groundbreaking in 2017, Ayala Land Inc. has started the construction of Area B.

Relatedly, the Tugade also announced the other projects under the 'Build, Build, Build' Program of the Duterte administration, such as the groundbreaking ceremony for the PNR Clark Phase 1 (Tutuban-Malolos) slated this Friday, February 15, and the groundbreaking of the Metro Manila Subway on February 26th .

"Groundbreaking is one thing. Completion of a project is another thing. If you do not complete the project with the quality expected and within the timeline formulated, I will hold you accountable in the books," Tugade warned.