The P79-billion Metro Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT7) connecting Quezon City to San Jose Del Monte in Bulacan is now halfway complete, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) yesterday reported. To be precise, the 22-kilometer rail system is 47.21 per cent finished and will be operational in 2021, reducing the two to three-hour travel time between the two points to 35 minutes. Overall, MRT7 will service some 420,000 passengers in Metro Manila and nearby provinces of Bulacan and Rizal. It will connect with Light Rail Transit (LRT) 1, MRT 3, and the Metro Manila Subway via the Common Station, which to be built between SM North EDSA and Trinoma mall. Construction of the project is currently in full swing, 24/7. Building the rolling stock and electrical and mechanical (E&M) works are also in progress, with 108 cars already completed todate. Ongoing civil works include the guideway construction, underground/depressed and at-grade excavation or concreting works, and installation of coping beam, girder and trans-sl