Construction of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Cotai-Hengqin section was fully completed yesterday, when the line was transferred to the LRT operator, which will now carry out the section’s internal trial operations before it is scheduled to open by the end of this year, the Macau government has announced.
The 2.2-kilometre-long section, including a 906-metre-long underwater tunnel, connects Macau’s Cotai leisure precinct and the Hengqin checkpoint.
The LRT Cotai-Hengqin section project got off the ground in March 2021. Its construction was “basically” completed earlier this year, after which train operation tests on the line started.
The Cotai-side station of the two-station Cotai-Hengqin section is located next to Lotus Station on the current Taipa-Cotai section, with each connected through an indoor corridor.
The Cotai-Hengqin section gradually descends from the elevated segment in Cotai and crosses the Cotai-Hengqin waterway via an underwater tunnel before arriving at the underground station at the Hengqin checkpoint building.
The Hengqin checkpoint is a Macau-mainland joint checkpoint, where the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) exercises jurisdiction over a part of the checkpoint on Zhuhai’s Hengqin island, i.e., the Macau-side checkpoint zone of the Hengqin joint checkpoint.
The MSAR also exercises jurisdiction over the Macau-side checkpoint zone’s adjoining areas such as the Lotus Flower Bridge across the Cotai-Hengqin waterway as well as the newly completed LRT Cotai-Hengqin section.
A statement by the Macau Public Works Bureau (DSOP) yesterday announced that the LRT Cotai-Hengqin section’s final survey inspection and formal acceptance was completed yesterday, meaning that its construction has now been fully completed.
According to the statement, the bureau then transferred the LRT Cotai-Hengqin section to Macau Light Rapid Transit Corporation Limited (MLM), the government-owned LRT operator.
The statement said that the LRT operator will now carry out the Cotai-Hengqin section’s internal trial operations, creating the necessary conditions for the line to be able to come into service before the end of this year.
The DSOP statement also underlined that the LRT Cotai-Hengqin section’s operation will strengthen the interconnection of infrastructures between Macau and the mainland, making it more convenient for residents and visitors alike to travel between Macau and the mainland. The new LRT section will help Macau better integrate itself into the nation’s overall development, the statement said.
The LRT Cotai-Hengqin section project has now been fully completed ahead of schedule as it was initially slated to be fully completed in November 2024.
LRT signalling malfunctioning
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters after attending a National Day celebratory event yesterday, Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosário said that Sunday’s breakdown on the LRT was possibly caused by the malfunctioning of its signalling system.
He said that an investigation was being carried out to determine the exact cause of the incident.
The LRT currently only operates on its Taipa-Cotai section, with the line’s service extended to the peninsula’s Barra through the lower enclosed deck of the Macau-Taipa Sai Van Bridge in December last year.
The LRT operator is providing free LRT rides for three days between Sunday and today, National Day, in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the MSAR.
The LRT breakdown on Sunday afternoon lasted about two hours.
The policy secretary underlined yesterday that the LRT breakdown on Sunday was not due to the significant increase in the number of passengers thanks to the free rides.
According to Rosário, the LRT recorded 27,000 passengers on Sunday, while the system normally has a daily average of 12,000 to 13,000 passengers.
These two handout photos released by the Public Works Bureau (DSOP) yesterday shows an LRT train at the Hengqin underground station and its platform yesterday.
