Photos: Manila’s new MRT7 line set to roll

READY TO ROLL: Manila’s new MRT7 is set to roll in December 2022. The new 22.8-km line, which runs from Quezon City, through Fairview and San Jose Del Monte in Bulacan, is expected to help relieve the perennial traffic congestion problems in the Philippine capital.

GRAND CENTRAL: There are at least three other MRT lines under construction, including the 33-km Metro Manila Subway across 17 stations, raising hopes Metro Manila will be far better city than what its residents and visitors have known all these years. Top photo shows MRT9 North Avenue station under construction, the MRT7 North Avenue section is shown at the bottom.

MASS TRANSIT: Manila's LRT2 Line (MRT2)  LRT2 is currently the Philippines’ most modern mass transit line, which uses heavy rail so it is a Metro (MRT2). With the completion of MRT7, LRT2 will soon be surpassed. Other mass transit lines are underway in Manila, including the MRT9 (Metro Manila Subway), as well as the NSCR Line, MRT5 and MRT4.

COMMON STATION: Construction of the common station, or the grand unified station, connecting LRT1, MRT3, MRT7, and the Metro Manila Subway. MRT-7 is a the latest line, which spans 22.8km across 14 stations. It will run northeast from an interchange with Line MRT-3 at North Avenue, serving Quezon City, Caloocan City, and San Jose del Monte in Bulacan. Following an 8-year delay, it is on its way to completion.

PREPPING FOR SMOOTHER JOURNEY: For MRT7, the end-to-end journey time between the 14 stations will be around 30 minutes, with ridership initially forecast to be around 350,000 passengers per day. A total of 36 trains and 108 cars are expected, with a depot capable of holding up to 150 trains, thus allowing for expansion. Ticket vending machines and automated gates are now set for tests, while testing of communications equipment has been completed. The line's rollout is set in December 2022.

TRAIN SETS: A crane hoists a train sets down the tracks (above) along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City. The train sets are parked on the railway track on Sunday (July 17, 2022).and par

GRAND CENTRAL: This unified grand central station, also known as the “common station", covers an area of 13,700 sqm, which enable commuters to jump from one line to another. It is expected to serve about of 478,000 passengers daily once completed. Photo uploaded on August 1, 2018.

TRAIN VIADUCT: A view of the viaduct running along Commonwealth Avenue in Manila. Upon completion of the MRT-7 by December 2022, there will be 108 brand new coaches or 36 train sets that will provide comfortable, efficient and safe transport option to nearly 500,000 people daily, alongside the 3 other lines MRT7 will be linked with. Construction of the line continued during the pandemic.

SNEAK PEAK: A sneak peek inside the new train sets from South Korea recently installed on the MRT-7 tracks along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City. With most foundational work done, the new line will welcome first passengers by December 2022.

UNLOADING: Less than a week since they left Masan Port in South Korea, the first two train sets for our MRT-7 project arrived in Manila on September 6, 2021 at the Port of Manila. A total of six train cars were unloaded at the port and be taken to the MRT-7 mainline. Civil works are being carried out by EEI Philippines, while electrical and mechanical systems, including the line’s fleet of 108 metro cars, will be supplied by Hyundai Rotem under a $440-million turn-key contract awarded by Universal LRT to the South Korean firm.

ROLLING INTO THE FUTURE: Walking inside the brand new MRT-7 train sets unveiled together with top officials. With the new line, Manila residents will have equal, easy access to their places of work, schools, essential services. The train service will offer families of all income brackets a comfortable and convenient transport option. It will interconnect with MRT3 and LRT1. The new line is hoped to help make traffic congestion along Commonwealth Avenue a thing of the past.

FUNDING: The San Miguel Corporation (SMC) has privately funded the MRT7 infrastructure project, which broke ground in April 2016. The $1.54 billion project is being implemented by Universal LRT, a subsidiary of San Miguel Holdings, Philippines, under a 35-year design-build-operate-maintain (DBOM) concession awarded by the Department of Transport and Communications in 2008. A view of the Unified Grand Central Station.