Macau Light Transit System
Encyclopedia
The Macau Light Rail Transit (Chinese: 澳門輕軌系統, Portuguese: Sistema de Metro Ligeiro de Macau) is a proposed mass transit system in the Special Administrative Region of Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...

. It would serve the Macau Peninsula
Macau Peninsula
Macau Peninsula is the oldest and most populous part of Macau. It has an area of 8.5 km² and is geographically connected to Guandong province, at the northeast, through an isthmus 200-metre wide. The peninsula, together with the city centre of Zhuhai, sits on an island separated from the...

, Taipa
Taipa
Taipa is the smaller of the two islands in the Chinese special administrative region of Macao .- Geography :It is 2.5 kilometres from Macau Peninsula and east of the Lesser Hengqin Island of Zhuhai, Guangdong Province...

 and Cotai
Cotai
Cotai is a 5.2 km2 piece of newly reclaimed land between Taipa and Coloane islands in Macau, that has not yet been assigned to any of the freguesias. The Chinese and Portuguese names are a portmanteau of the two islands, Coloane and Taipa....

, serving major border checkpoints such as the Border Gate
Portas do Cerco
Portas do Cerco is an area on the Macau Peninsula , in the former Portuguese colony of Macau, now a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, near the border checkpoint with the rest of the People's Republic of China at Gongbei, Zhuhai, Guangdong Province...

, the Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal, the Lotus Bridge
Lotus Bridge
Lotus Bridge is a cross-border bridge linking the Cotai reclamation area of Macau with Hengqin Island in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China . The bridge is the second road crossing between mainland China and Macau, the other being the Posto Fronteiriço das Portas do Cerco at...

 Border and the Macau International Airport
Macau International Airport
- Cargo airlines :The following cargo airlines serve Macau International Airport :*Air Macau*EVA Air Cargo*Shanghai Airlines Cargo*Singapore Airlines Cargo- Other Tenants :* Macau Customs Service...

.

History

The Macau LRT was first proposed in 2003 by the Macau SAR Government. After the original proposal was rejected by the public, the final decision to build the LRT was not made until October 2006. The system would improve transportation options between the Macau Peninsula
Macau Peninsula
Macau Peninsula is the oldest and most populous part of Macau. It has an area of 8.5 km² and is geographically connected to Guandong province, at the northeast, through an isthmus 200-metre wide. The peninsula, together with the city centre of Zhuhai, sits on an island separated from the...

, Taipa
Taipa
Taipa is the smaller of the two islands in the Chinese special administrative region of Macao .- Geography :It is 2.5 kilometres from Macau Peninsula and east of the Lesser Hengqin Island of Zhuhai, Guangdong Province...

 and Cotai
Cotai
Cotai is a 5.2 km2 piece of newly reclaimed land between Taipa and Coloane islands in Macau, that has not yet been assigned to any of the freguesias. The Chinese and Portuguese names are a portmanteau of the two islands, Coloane and Taipa....

, and relieve traffic congestion on roads and bridges. The Macau LRT will be the first rapid transit
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...

 system within the Special Administrative Region.

Site investigation work started in 2008. The system aims to be operating by the end of 2015,; rolling stock was ordered in January 2011.

Network

The proposed LRT system will be a driverless
Automatic train operation
Automatic train operation ensures partial or complete automatic train piloting and driverless functions.Most systems elect to maintain a driver to mitigate risks associated with failures or emergencies....

 and rubber-tyred
Rubber-tyred metro
A rubber-tyred metro is a form of rapid transit system that uses a mix of road and rail technology. The vehicles have wheels with rubber tyres which run on rolling pads inside guide bars for traction, as well as traditional railway steel wheels with deep flanges on steel tracks for guidance through...

 system, similar to the Singapore LRT. The Phase I line will run along elevated
Elevated railway
An elevated railway is a form of rapid transit railway with the tracks built above street level on some form of viaduct or other steel or concrete structure. The railway concerned may be constructed according to the standard gauge, narrow gauge, light rail, monorail or suspension railway system...

 guideways separate from road traffic.

The LRT network will consist of at least two phases:
  • Phase I Line (Macau-Taipa Line)
    The line will connect major entry-exit points at the Macao Peninsula and the Taipa Island with residential and tourist areas. It will use reserved space in the lower deck of the Ponte de Sai Van
    Ponte de Sai Van
    Ponte de Sai Van is a cable-stayed bridge in Macau inaugurated on December 19, 2004. The bridge measures long and is the third one that connects Taipa Island and Macau Peninsula...

     (Sai Van Bridge) to connect to Taipa island.
  • Phase II Line (Loop Line)
    The line will connect the Barrier gate to A-Ma Temple passing through the inner harbour area, and eventually form a loop on the Macao peninsula.

Rolling stock

The LRT will use Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
, or MHI, is a Japanese company. It is one of the core companies of Mitsubishi Group.-History:In 1870 Yataro Iwasaki, the founder of Mitsubishi took a lease of Government-owned Nagasaki Shipyard. He named it Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works, and started the shipbuilding business on a full scale...

 Crystal Mover APM vehicles with rubber tyres running on concrete track. Each four-cabin train will have a capacity of up to 476 passengers.

Construction

The estimated construction cost for Phase 1 (with 21 stations) was revised in June 2011 from MOP
Macanese pataca
The pataca is the currency of Macau. It is subdivided into 100 avos , with 10 avos called ho in Cantonese. The abbreviation MOP$ is commonly used....

 7.5 billion (about USD 933 million) to MOP 11 billion (about USD 1,370 million) including MOP 360 millions for studies, MOP 4.9 billion for the rolling stock and MOP 5.74 billion for the construction activities. The project will be financed by the Government of Macau and is scheduled to take about 48 months to complete, starting mid-2011.

Six design packages have been awarded and the open tenders are expected to be published by October 2011, starting by the Taipa packages C250 and C260.

Stations

The Phase I Macau LRT (Macau-Taipa Line) will have 21 stations, two stations initially scheduled near the Cultural Centre and near the Macau Government Headquarters
Macau Government Headquarters
Macau Government Headquarters is the official office of the Chief Executive of Macau and has been since 1999.-History:Built in 1849 by Tomás de Aquino, Baron do Cercal, the two story pink facade structure is one of the historic properties preserving Portuguese influence in Macau and located on...

 on Avenida da Praia Grande having been scrapped in the 2009 review:

Station Name
English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

Station Name
Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...

Station Name
Traditional Hanzi
Station Name
Simplified Hanzi
1 Border Gate Portas do Cerco 關閘 关闸
2 Hac Sa Van Park Parque Urbano da Areia Preta 黑沙環公園 黑沙环公园
3 Northeast Nordeste 東北 东北
4 Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal Terminal Marítimo do Porto Exterior 外港碼頭 外港码头
5 Golden Lotus Square Praça de Lótus e Praceta de Miramar 金蓮花廣場 金莲花广场
6 Dr. Carlos D’Assumpção Park Parque Dr. Carlos D’Assumpção 宋玉生公園 宋玉生公园
7 Art Garden Jardim das Artes 藝園 艺园
8 Nam Van Lake Largo de Nam Van 南灣湖 南湾湖
9 Sai Van Lake Largo de Sai Van 西灣湖 西湾湖
10 Barra Barra 媽閣 妈阁
11 Sai Van Bridge Ponte de Sai Van 西灣大橋 西湾大桥
12 Macao Jockey Club Jokey club de Macau 賽馬會 赛马会
13 Macau Stadium Estádio de Macau 澳門運動場 澳门运动场
14 Pai Kok, Taipa Pai Kok de Taipa 氹仔排角 凼仔排角
15 West Cotai Oeste de Cotai 路氹城西 路凼城西
16 Lotus Port Porto fronteiriço de Lótus 蓮花口岸 莲花口岸
17 Macao East Asian Games Dome Macau Dome 澳門蛋 澳门蛋
18 East Cotai Este de Cotai 路氹城東 路凼城东
19 Macao University of Science and Technology Universidade de Ciência e Tecnologia 科技大學 科技大学
20 Airport Aeroporto 機場 机场
21 Pac On Ferry Terminal Terminal Marítimo de Pac On 北安碼頭 北安码头

External links

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