A media trip to the new Light Rail Transit (LRT) Taipa-Barra section, which will open on Friday, yesterday showed that a one-way trip will just take around four minutes.
A whole one-way trip on the current LRT Taipa section takes around 22 minutes.
The government-owned LRT operator, Macau Light Rapid Transit Corporation Limited (MLM), also said yesterday that it will increase the LRT system’s train frequency from Friday.
The company also said that it is now aiming to complete drawing up and announcing a train schedule for the LRT system in the near future.
Currently, the LRT only operates on the 9.3-kilometre-long Taipa section which includes Cotai. The Taipa-Cotai section, which started operating on December 10, 2019, has 11 stations.
The LRT Taipa-Barra section, the city’s first sea-crossing railway line connecting Taipa and the Macau peninsula, will run from Ocean Station, the western terminus of the LRT Taipa section, to the south-western tip of the peninsula near A-Ma Temple.
LRT Ocean Station is located near the sprawling Ocean Gardens residential estate on the north-western Taipa waterfront. The LRT Taipa-Barra section will run along the lower enclosed deck of the Macau-Taipa Sai Van Bridge.
“Barra” is Portuguese for “harbour entrance”. The Cantonese name of the LRT Barra Station is “Ma Kok” due to the nearby Ma Kok (A-Ma) Temple.
The LRT operator organised a media tour yesterday afternoon to allow reporters to experience an LRT ride from Barra Station to Ocean Station. MLM President Ho Cheong Kei briefed reporters at the LRT Barra Station about its facilities before the ride for the media started.
The operational start of the Taipa-Barra section will raise the number of the city’s LRT stations from 11 to 12.
Ho noted yesterday that when the LRT Taipa-Barra section comes into service on Friday, the first train will depart from Barra Station at 6:30 a.m., i.e., in the direction of Taipa Ferry Terminal Station, the eastern terminus of the LRT Taipa section.
Ho said that in the direction of Barra Station, the LRT operator will also arrange for the first train to depart from the Jockey Club Station at 6:30 a.m., because of which this train will be the first to arrive at Barra Station before the one that will depart from the Taipa section’s eastern terminus of Taipa Ferry Terminal Station at the same time.
Ceremony, schedules
Ho said that there will be a ceremony at Barra Station early Friday morning marking the operational start of the LRT Taipa-Barra section at that time.
An MLM statement yesterday said that LRT passengers who travel from Barra Station between 6:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. on Friday will be given a free souvenir, a crystal LRT carriage model, but with a limited number it will be handed out on a first-come-first-served basis.
Ho said that with the LRT service to be extended to Barra Station, the operator will extend the LRT system’s operating hours and increase its train frequency from Friday.
Currently, LRT trains operate between 6:30 a.m. and 11:15 p.m. daily, with each train departing every 10 to 15 minutes.
According to Cheong, from Friday LRT trains will operate between 6:30 a.m. and 11:15 p.m. from Mondays to Fridays, while the services will run between 6:30 a.m. and 11:59 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. Each train will depart every 7 ½ (peak hours) to 10 minutes (non-peak hours), Ho said.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic began to affect Macau in late January 2020, LRT trains operated between 6:30 a.m. and 11:15 p.m. from Mondays to Thursdays, and between 6:30 a.m. and 11:59 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. Each train departed every 5 to 10 minutes at that time.
Ho also said yesterday that he was unable to predict the increase in the number of LRT passengers after the Taipa-Barra section comes into service, adding that more importantly the operational start of the new line can make it easier for residents and visitors alike to travel to different communities and districts across the city.
E-payments, shops
With the Taipa-Barra section to open, a new LRT fare system will be implemented from Friday, according to which a one-way LRT ride will cost up to 12 patacas, a change from the current 10 patacas. LRT card and Macau Pass card holders will continue to enjoy a 50 percent discount on ticket prices, while senior citizens will continue to enjoy free LRT rides. Students will continue to enjoy a 75 percent discount.
LRT passengers can swipe their stored-value LRT card or Macau Pass card at ticket gates. Passengers buying a general one-way ticket at station service counters can use a number of mobile payment apps.
Ho said that the LRT operator will continue to study the possibility of increasing the number of e-payment channels that can also be used at ticket gates. In addition, the operator will also study the possibility of providing top-up services for Macau Pass cards at LRT stations, Ho said.
Meanwhile, there are a total of 12 units at LRT Barra Station to be used for the operations of shops and other retail outlets, according to Ho.
However, none of them will be operated initially after LRT Barra Station opens. Ho pledged that the LRT operator will continue to ask companies to launch their business at the station.
Barra Station has a total of five entrances and exits, two of which are connected with the underground public bus terminal of the adjacent Barra Public Transport Hub.
Macau Light Rapid Transit Corporation Limited (MLM) President Ho Cheong Kei (front, left) briefs reporters about the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Barra Station’s facilities while two LRT staff members wearing their new uniform look on. – Photos: Tony Wong
This photo taken yesterday shows a part of the LRT Barra Station.
Media workers take photos and videos during yesterday’s LRT ride along Sai Van Bridge’s lower enclosed deck.
