The country’s four conglomerates have agreed to end a seven-year deadlock over the location of the common station that will connect Metro Manila’s overhead train system in Quezon City.

The agreement to be signed today is expected to pave the way for a filing of a joint motion to the Supreme Court to lift a temporary restraining order.

In a meeting last September 8, SM Group’s Tessie Sy Coson and Hans Sy, Ayala Corp’s Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, San Miguel Corp’s Ramon Ang, and Metro Pacific Investment Corp’s Manny Pangilinan agreed a unified station is needed to make commuting more convenient.

The four parties have identified a single location of the common station to be built between SM North EDSA and Trinoma, which will connect three urban transit lines: LRT Line 1, MRT-3, and the proposed MRT-7, which will run from North Avenue to San Jose del Monte, Bulacan.

The common station will provide a common concourse or atrium wherein train commuters can transfer from one line to another.

An agreement between the Transport Department, Light Rail Transit Authority, SM Prime Holdings, Inc., Universal LRT Corp. and Light Rail Manila Consortium, North Triangle Depot Commercial Corporation represented by Ayala Land, Inc., Public Works department will be signed Sept 28 to finalize the agreement.

The Aquino administration alloted P1.608 billion for the common station project.

The common station project started in 2009 and has been on hold due to legal issues. The LRTA inked a deal with SM Prime Holdings Inc. to build the station near SM North EDSA.

Five years later, the transport department decided to build the station near Ayala’s Trinoma, citing cost cutting.

The Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order in favor of SM Prime Holdings to stop building the common station. DMS