CITY OF SAN JOSE DEL MONTE (PIA) — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the City Government of San Jose Del Monte have agreed on a new location for the San Jose Del Monte Station of the Metro Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT-7) Project.
During a project briefing for the Regional Project Monitoring Committee (RPMC), led by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) – Region III, DOTr MRT-7 Project Manager Engr. Suncris Cadiz confirmed that while the station will still be constructed along Quirino Highway, its location has been adjusted.
Originally planned near the Muzon-Tungkong Mangga Road intersection, the station will now be relocated closer to the boundary of San Jose Del Monte and North Caloocan.
The San Jose Del Monte Station is one of the 14 stations along the 28.8-kilometer MRT-7 route, which will connect to the soon-to-open LRT-MRT Unified Grand Central Terminal at EDSA-North Avenue, Quezon City.
Following the completion of San Jose Del Monte Station, the Tala Station in North Caloocan is set to begin construction. Meanwhile, 12 other stations have already been erected, with partial operations targeted by late 2025 or early 2026.
With the station’s final location now confirmed, Cadiz added that construction of an Intermodal Transportation Terminal (ITT) will follow. The ITT will be built beside the train station and will accommodate up to 60 buses at a time. Additionally, a six-lane access road is planned to connect MRT-7 to the Bocaue and Balagtas interchanges of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX).
Records from the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center showed that there are proposals to extend MRT-7 beyond San Jose Del Monte to the municipalities of Norzagaray, Santa Maria, and Balagtas, eventually reaching the New Manila International Airport (NMIA) in Bulakan, Bulacan.
The P77-billion MRT-7 project was developed under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) scheme, a form of PPP. Under this arrangement, San Miguel Corporation (SMC) serves as the concessionaire, financing the design, construction, and operation of the railway. After the concession period, ownership and control of the infrastructure will be transferred to the government.
Approved by the NEDA Board in 2008 during the Arroyo administration, actual construction of MRT-7 began in late 2016. (MJSC/SFV, PIA Region 3-Bulacan)
