First Batch of MRT-7 Trains Arriving Next Week, Ramon Ang Says
The first batch of trains for the for the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 7 is due to arrive next week, San Miguel Corp. President and CEO Ramon Ang said on Wednesday (September 1). The trains are coming from South Korean firm Hyundai Rotem and will be inspected by SMC’s adviser Korea Railroad Corp. (Korail).
Each train set is 65.45 meters long, a full 15 meters longer than an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
Ang said that SMC has ordered 36 train sets or a total of 108 train cars from Hyundai Rotem. The rest of the train cars will arrive over the course of the next few months.
“The timely arrival of these brand new, high-quality trains from South Korea—known as one of the world’s best train and rail systems builders—is such a welcome development, and I believe holds a lot of significance,” Ang said. “At a time when many are feeling uncertain about our country’s future because of the pandemic, this shows that the job of nation-building, continues; that the work of improving our infrastructure, boosting our economic growth prospects, and investing in our country’s brighter future, also doesn’t stop--especially for us in San Miguel.”
Construction on the MRT-7 is in full swing and is about 54 percent done, the company reported. Bored piles, girders, and other foundational works on a significant portion of the project have already been completed.
“Right now, construction activities on the guideway and the stations are ongoing. Electronic and mechanical works also continues. As we said before, the MRT-7 project is in many ways more difficult and complex than even our recently-competed Skyway Stage 3--which in itself is an engineering feat. This is because MRT-7 has added complexities such as electric power systems, computer and communications systems, signaling systems, and automatic fare systems, among others,” Ang said.
He noted that there are “many causes of delay” such as the restrictions caused by the pandemic and issues on right of way delivery.
“But as with all SMC projects, we apply 110 percent effort to all the areas we can work on, so as to minimize delays. The most important thing is we don’t stop, we keep on progressing,” Ang said.
With a total length of 22.8 kilometers, the MRT-7 will have a total of 14 stations beginning at the North Triangle Common Station in Quezon City all the way to San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan. SMC, through its subsidiary SMC Mass Rail Transit 7 Inc., was awarded the contract to build the line by the Department of Transportation in 2008. The entire project is estimated to cost around P62.7 billion.
The target is to have partial operations between North Avenue and Sacred Heart stations by mid-2022.
