Lotus station (Chinese: 蓮花站; Portuguese: Estação do Lótus) is a station on the Taipa line of the Macau Light Rapid Transit in Cotai, Macau. It is an elevated station located at Estrada Flor de Lótus adjacent to Studio City, near the south end of the Cotai Strip.
Lotus 蓮花 | ||||||||||||||||
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 Platform level of Lotus station. | ||||||||||||||||
| General information | ||||||||||||||||
| Location | Estrada Flor de Lótus, Cotai, Macau | |||||||||||||||
| Line(s) | TaipaHengqin | |||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 2 side platforms | |||||||||||||||
| Construction | ||||||||||||||||
| Structure type | Elevated | |||||||||||||||
| Other information | ||||||||||||||||
| Station code | LOC | |||||||||||||||
| History | ||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 10 December 2019[1][2] | |||||||||||||||
| Previous names | Lotus Checkpoint | |||||||||||||||
| Services | ||||||||||||||||
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History
editThe station was originally named Lotus Checkpoint Station (Chinese: 蓮花口岸站; Portuguese: Estação do Posto Fronteiriço de Lótus) as it was adjacent to the now-defunct Cotai Frontier Post - which is also known as the Lotus Checkpoint. The frontier post was where immigration clearance took place for passengers travelling into and out of Macau through the Lótus Bridge between 2000 and 2020. [3]
Construction for the station's steel superstructure formally began in August 2015.[4] It opened on 10 December 2019 along with the rest of the Taipa line.[1][5]
The Cotai Frontier Post was decommissioned on 18 August 2020, around 8 months after Lotus Checkpoint station commenced operation. It was replaced by the Macau Port Area of the Hengqin Port, located in Hengqin, Zhuhai but leased to Macau and managed under Macau law. Passengers could no longer access Macau immigration clearance facilities from the station on foot, and would now need to transfer to buses in order to reach the new border crossing. In alignment to the closure and demolition of the frontier post, the station was officially renamed to its current name on 11 August 2023, with station signages expected to be replaced by November 2023. [3]
Layout
editTaipa Line Platform
edit| 2/F | Side platform; doors open on the left | |||
| Platform Floor | Taipa to Taipa Ferry Terminal (Union Hospital) | → | ||
| Platform Floor | ← | Taipa to Barra (Cotai West) | ||
| Side platform; doors open on the left | ||||
| 1/F | Tickets Level | Customer service, ticket machine and toilet, and Hengqin interchange platform | ||
| Ground Floor | Exits and entrances | |||
Entrances/Exits
edit
The station was built with two entrances/exits, one connecting to the Studio City hotel-casino and another to the Cotai Frontier Post. Upon the decommissioning of the Cotai Frontier Post, Exit B was closed and later demolished, leaving the station with only one point of access. Exit A connects to Studio City by way of a footbridge.
- A: Studio City
B: Lotus Checkpoint (exit closed as of August 2020)
Services
editLotus is currently served by the Taipa line, which runs between Barra and Taipa Ferry Terminal.
Future
editThe station would become the terminus of Hengqin extension line, a 2.2km long shuttle service connecting the Macau Port Area of Hengqin Port with the LRT Taipa line. Upon the line's completion, passengers would be able to transfer from Taipa line for Hengqin Checkpoint station at Lotus station. The entire Hengqin extension line, including the platforms at this station, would be underground.
An earlier proposal for the Seac Pai Van line had sited the line's northern terminus at this station. The scheme was later amended and an infill Union Hospital station would be built between here and East Asian Games to act as the new line's connection point to the rest of the LRT system.
References
edit- ^ a b "Macao LRT Opens next Tuesday, Free Rides until End of the Year". Macao Light Rapid Transit Corporation, Limited. 6 December 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
- ^ 柳暗花明又一村 與承建商協議解約 輕軌車廠工程明年重啟 最快回歸二十年通車. Macao Daily NewsA3版. 18 November 2015.(in Chinese)
- ^ a b "LOTUS CHECKPOINT STATION RENAMES TO LOTUS STATION, SIGNAGES OF TAIPA LINE WILL BE REPLACED GRADUALLY". MTR (Macau). 7 August 2023. Archived from the original on 8 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
- ^ "輕軌多個車站陸續展開鋼結構安裝". Jornal Cheng Pou. Macau. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ 工程剪影. 運輸基建辦公室 [Gabinete para as Infra-estruturas de Transportes]. 9 January 2017. Archived from the original on 9 January 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
External links
edit- Lotus Station information on Macau LRT website