The Department of Transportation (DOTr) in the Philippines have announces last week that Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 7 from Quezon City to Bulacan province is 50.7% complete.

“To date, civil works of the underground/depressed, at grade, and elevated guideway of the rail line are in various stages of construction, while the civil works of the nine stations are at full blast,” the DOTr said. It also added: “Moreover, for the rolling stock and electrical and mechanical works, 108 cars have already been completed, while the track works are underway.”

The PHP 62.7 billion (USD 1.23 billion) project involves the financing, design, construction, operation & maintenance of the 23 km elevated railway line with 13 stations from San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan to MRT 3 North Avenue in Quezon City and the 22km six-lane highway between North Luzon Expressway and a planned Intermodal Transportation Terminal (ITT); and the ITT itself that can accommodate 200 buses at a time.

The project is expected to accommodate 300,000 to 850,000 passengers daily. The line will cut travel time between San Jose del Monte and Quezon City from two hours to 34 minutes.

The Line 7 will be connected with LRT-1, MRT-3, and the Metro Manila Subway through the Common Station in North Avenue.

The project is funded and will be operated by conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC)

The construction works on the project started in 2016 and it is planned for completion by 2022.