The first leg of Macau’s long-anticipated light rail line opened last week, linking the city’s Taipa section with the adjoining Cotai resort district.
Macau Chief Executive Fernando Chui led the December 9 ceremony to inaugurate the line, Macau Light Rapid Transit, as it’s known, which has been a reported 16 years in the making and ultimately will include the Macau peninsula at a total estimated cost of MOP11 billion (US$1.3 billion).
The peninsula currently is joined to Taipa by three bridges for automobiles, busses and limited foot traffic.
The LRT’s Taipa-Cotai link covers 9.3 kilometers (5.8 miles) and encompasses 11 stations: Taipei Ferry Terminal, Macau Airport, Macau University of Science and Technology, East Asia Games, Cotai East, the Lotus Bridge checkpoint, Cotai West, Pai Kok, Stadium, Jockey Club and Ocean.
Riders will travel free until the end of the year. Regular fares will be announced in January.
