MACAU | Light Rail Transit

[ganghui]

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 Macau LRT will be the first rapid transit 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.

The Macau LRT broke ground in february 2012 and is currently under construction.

Planned route:

[ganghui]

Macau government accepts 18 bids for four Light Rail Transit stations in Cotai
27/02/2012
MacauNews/Politics



Macau, China, 27 Feb - A total of 18 companies have had their bids accepted for the construction for four stations in the Cotai section of the first phase of the government's Light Rail Transit (LRT) project - with the lowest bid amounting to 789 million patacas and the highest standing at 1.3 billions patacas, according to a statement from the Transportation Infrastructure Office (GIT) on Friday.

According to the statement, a total 18 companies submitted bids for the open tender. However, only 14 of the bids were accepted, while the other four were accepted "conditionally".

The project's maximum construction period stipulated by the government is 1,021 days.

The Cotai section of the LRT project is set to improve transportation in the area, making it more convenient for people to travel, as well as providing a "seamless" connection to the Guangzhou-Zhuhai Intercity Railway through the LRT station to be located at the Lotus Flower Cotai-Hengqin checkpoint, the statement said.

According to the statement, the length of the LRT's Cotai section is 3.37 kilometres, starting at Rua do Pai Kok in Taipa and ending in the western part of Cotai. The route will cross several roads, including Estrada da Baia de Nossa Senhora de Esperanca and Rotunda de Cotai and Estrada Flor de Lotus.

The four stations will be built in the western and eastern parts of Cotai as well as the Lotus Flower border checkpoint, which is next to Zhuhai's Hengqin Island checkpoint and Cotai's Macau Dome.

The office said in the statement that construction of the Cotai section would provide about 400 jobs for locals. However, the office did not say when construction would commence.

The first phase of the LRT, which includes 21 stations - 11 in Taipa and Cotai and 10 in Macau Peninsula, is slated to open in the first quarter of 2015.

The LRT project, which will connect the peninsula, Taipa and Cotai with over 20-kilo-metres of track with a revised budget of 11 billion patacas, finally got off the ground last week when construction of four stations in Taipa including one outside the Macau Jockey Club started.

According to The Macau Post Daily in 2007, the budget for the LRT project was about 4.2 billion patacas (US$ 525 million).

[ganghui]

Macau starts light rail construction
22/02/2012
MacauNews/Politics



Macau, China, 22 Feb - Macau’s long-delayed light trail project got finally off the ground Tuesday and Secretary for Transport and Public Works Lau Si I asked for residents' understanding for any traffic snarl-ups and inconvenience caused.

Construction for the Taipa-section of the Light Rapid Transit (LRT) system started, after 10 years of preparatory work,The Macau Post Daily reports today.

Lau spoke to reporters after the project’s groundbreaking ceremony held at the construction site in front of the Macau Jockey Club, after which construction workers immediately began groundwork at the Sai Van Bridge tunnel near the Ocean Gardens residential complex.

The 1.94-kilometre Taipa section, which consists of four stations – Ocean Gardens , Macau Jockey Club, Macau Stadium and Pai Kok, is budgeted to cost 489 million patacas and is slated take at least three years to complete.

Lau admitted that construction of the LRT system might cause inconvenience for people in the area, but asked for their understanding as the light rail system would reduce the city’s traffic woes in the long-run.

"Traffic congestion will worsen as the number of vehicles in Macau continues to grow. The LRT can smooth out traffic problems caused by the busy road network," Lau said.

The first phase of the public works project which includes 21 stations connecting Macau , Taipa and Cotai over a 20-kilometre track, was given a revised budget of 11 billion patacas last year. Originally, the mammoth project was budgeted at 4.2 billion patacas in 2007.

Lau said that the light rail was a special project for Macau which would promote co-operation between Guangdong and Macau and boost regional integration as Macau’s light rail system will in the future be linked with the one in Guangdong.

[Geography]

Thanks for starting this thread and posting the news.

This graphic makes me happy because it shows a grade-separated station and line. The name LRT suggests a tram-like system to me, which would just take up more of Macau's very slim street space. An elevated system is the best idea.

[Silly_Walks]

I guess this is not a light rail in the regular sense (an advanced tram with limited at grade crossings), but light rail according to the Chinese: elevated metro.

[FM 2258]

Originally Posted by ganghui

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 Macau LRT will be the first rapid transit 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.

The Macau LRT broke ground in february 2012 and is currently under construction.

Planned route:

It would be nice if they could run a line along the long bridge (to the right) so you can easily take it from the TurboJet ferry terminal to the Airport without having to go all over town.

[ganghui]

Updated system map

[Geography]

It would be nice if they could run a line along the long bridge (to the right) so you can easily take it from the TurboJet ferry terminal to the Airport without having to go all over town.

I read that the LRT originally planned to do that but corruption during the bridge's construction make it structurally infeasible.

[FM 2258]

Originally Posted by Geography

I read that the LRT originally planned to do that but corruption during the bridge's construction make it structurally infeasible.

Seems simple, close a lane, throw down some track, throw up a pantograph, voila....light rail on the bridge!

Ok, probably not that easy but it would be perfect to have a line going a cross the bridge. A light rail tunnel perhaps?

I'm glad they're doing this project. When I was in Macau I hopped on a bus hoping to ride it for sight seeing, well the bus ended up at the depot.

[Blackraven]

Not sure which bus you rode but most hotels provide free bus services to and from their hotels to major points (like the ferry terminals, the airport, the border gate or even up to Taipa and Coloane).

I'm not sure on this but you must've probably ridden on another bus then like the Transmac (澳門新福利公共汽車有限公司)???

[khoojyh]

Any more news?

[hkskyline]

LRT link to Delta bridge good for Cotai casinos
14/03/2012 10:24:00
Macau Daily Times

The possible inclusion of a line between the Pearl River Delta bridge border crossing and Taipa in the second phase of the Light Rapid Transit (LRT) system would benefit the Cotai casinos, analysts said. The construction works for the LRT first route began last month but authorities are already planning for the second phase, which will include a link between the Border Gate and the Barra district that would close the circuit in the Macau peninsula. Also planned are two stations in the reclaimed plot A and the island that will host the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge border crossing, both rising to the peninsula’s northeast.

But the Transportation Infrastructure Office (GIT) is also considering whether or not to introduce a new line linking the island to Taipa, in connection with a fourth crossing point between the two sides, which could be a tunnel. “We believe the proposed add-on would connect the drop-off point of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge directly to Taipa/Cotai, bypassing the numerous station stops [in the first phase line] on the Macau peninsula,” Union Gaming Research analysts wrote in an industry research report released on Monday.

Without a new line, visitors coming from the bridge would have to pass through 11 stations, stretching from the peninsula to Taipa through the Sai Van bridge before reaching the first Cotai casino. “We would view this spur line as a positive for operators with significant Cotai exposure,” according to the report quoted by Macau Business newsletter. Sands China, Galaxy Entertainment and Melco Crown Entertainment are the three operators with a foothold in the area.

The other three companies – Wynn Macau, Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM) and MGM China – have each applied for plots in Cotai and last month the Lands and Public Works Bureau (DSSOPT) director Jaime Carion said two of the three land grant applications could be approved by the end of 2012.

2016 launch

One year ago, Union Gaming Research stressed that most casino customers have “an (ingrained) preference for rail travel, as well as a tolerance for longer journeys (relative to air travel) in exchange for saving money on transportation costs”.

“Mass market casino customers might ‘cheap out’ on transportation costs (…) but then hit the casino floors firing on all cylinders with per-hand wagers in excess of the cost of the trip,” the analysts wrote.

“Although not addressed, we would anticipate this spur line to open sometime after phase one opens in 2016,” Union Gaming Research wrote. The analysts are less optimistic that the government, which pledged to have the LRT first phase up and running by 2015.

The construction works for the initial LRT route in downtown Taipa should be ready around May 2015. The two-kilometer project, which will include five stations – Ocean Gardens, Macau Jockey Club, Macau Stadium and one between the old Taipa village and the Galaxy Macau resort –, will cost MOP 489 million. The open tender for the LRT route in the Macau peninsula will be launched during the first half of this year. The construction works will start before the end of 2012, authorities pledged.

In addition the government is also planning for a possible extension of the LRT system to Seac Pai Van, in Coloane, and to Hengqin Island, in connection with the future Guangzhou-Zhuhai Intercity Mass Rapid Transit. A study commissioned by GIT claims the LRT system will boost Macau’s economy and help society earn a further MOP 15.8 to 16.4 billion in the first 10 years of operation alone.

Authorities believe the LRT will become Macau’s main collective transportation system and reduce commuting time by 63 percent. The government also expects the use of private vehicles to drop, cutting both greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption by 20 percent.

[DanielFigFoz]

Originally Posted by Silly_Walks

I guess this is not a light rail in the regular sense (an advanced tram with limited at grade crossings), but light rail according to the Chinese: elevated metro.

It appears so, it doesn't look trammy at all:

http://www.git.gov.mo/MSC06/pt/index.html

!!

The website says 'Utiliza rodas pneumáticas e é um veículo automático sem condutor', which means (strangely in the present tense) that the metro will have tyres like in Paris or Montreal and that it will be automatic.

If you click on number three it says 'terceiro carril para fornecimento de eletricidade' which means that it'll have a third rail.

It appears that the website is a virtual tour of 'Gallery N.6 of the Centro de Ciência de Macau on the Avenida Dr. Sun Yat-Sen'

[hkskyline]

LRT starts construction on all Taipa and Cotai segments
14/06/2012 09:47:00
Macau Daily Times

Four months after the beginning of construction for the first section of the Taipa Light Rapid Transit (LRT) system, a ground-breaking ceremony was held for two more sections of the city’s first railway. This marks the start of a full force construction of the entire mass transit system, and is expected to be completed in 3 years, with the public tender for a section in the Peninsula had also been initiated.

In the commencement ceremony held in the Estr. Flor De Lotus, Lei Chan Tong, Coordinator of the Transportation Infrastructure Office, and dozens of other leaders from the government and from the construction and business sectors witnessed the beginning of construction for LRT’s Cotai Section and Lotus Border Crossing Section.

Lei said in his opening speech that the LRT system plays an integral part in the upgrade of Macau’s public transportation network, training of local railway operators, as well as offering Macau companies a platform to participate in railway construction. Lei also mentioned that the works may impact on nearby residents, but the relevant authority has already stepped up safety measures and set up communication networks with the public - including an enquiry hotline for related issues or complaints.

The 3.4kilometre Cotai Section consists of four stations covering the major resorts in the Cotai Strip as well as the centre of Taipa village, whilst the 3.1kilometer Lotus Border Crossing Section has three stations linking the Macau University of Science and Technology, the airport and the Pac On Ferry Terminal. The 1.9kilometre section with five stations linking Taipa village and the Sai Van Bridge started its construction in February.

Lei pointed out that as construction of the overall LRT Taipa section has begun, the timeline for construction of the Peninsula section is now under the spotlight. Lei told media that preliminary work has begun, and that the public tender for an underground passage near the A-Ma Temple began yesterday. He did not, however, provide a timeline for the construction of the railway itself in the Peninsula. As for the Taipa section, Lei stated that the original target for completion by 2015 remained unchanged. When asked about individual members of the public influenced by the works, who warned earlier of taking the government to court, Lei said unexpected events are natural in these major projects and the authority has monitoring mechanisms and contingency plans in place for the uncertain elements. Lei stressed that there was no suggestion that the possible lawsuits would result in a delay of the 2015 target. The whole LRT system is estimated to cost Macau MOP 11 billion to build. There have already been several budget inflations, and the authority has not ruled out further upward adjustments.

As an aside, Lei said the manufacturer of the LRT trains, Japan’s Mitsubishi, had already finalized a model of the “Ocean Cruiser” trains which will be running on the LRT railway after its completion. The model will be demonstrated openly for the public to see, and sit in. The manufacturer is now making some adjustments on the model after collecting initial feedbacks from the public. Sources said the model in 1:1 ratio to the real train car, will be displayed in the open area by Sai Van Lake.

The train was specially designed for Macau as a tourism hub and so the train cars have panoramic windows for passengers to enjoy the views outside. Environmental friendly features are also adopted to cut noisy pollution.

[Woonsocket54]

World's first metro featuring Portuguese signage outside of Portugal and Brazil?

[hkskyline]

Originally Posted by Woonsocket54

World's first metro featuring Portuguese signage outside of Portugal and Brazil?

Since Portuguese is still an official language in Macau, I highly suspect all metro signage will have Portuguese. As to whether it's the first one or not outside Portugal and Brazil, not too sure.

[everywhere]

Originally Posted by hkskyline

Since Portuguese is still an official language in Macau, I highly suspect all metro signage will have Portuguese. As to whether it's the first one or not outside Portugal and Brazil, not too sure.

But I think it does have English and Chinese signage as well since Cantonese, Mandarin and English are also spoken in Macau

[hkskyline]

Originally Posted by everywhere

But I think it does have English and Chinese signage as well since Cantonese, Mandarin and English are also spoken in Macau

English is technically not an official language in Macau.

For example, street signs are only in Portuguese and traditional Chinese.

[Blackraven]

Good point

With that said, I do suspect though that it will include English language texts as well.

I expect this to be more tourist-friendly and definitely more friendly to non-Cantonese speakers compared to some bus and taxis (where some drivers do not even know what 'taipa' or 'cotai' is)

[Myouzke]

It is most likely Chinese will be at the top, than Portuguese in between, and English at the bottom like the signs in Macau Int'l Airport and the tourist signs around the city.