CHINA: Macau Light Rail Transit’s Hengqin Line opened on December 2, its second new line in a month. The 2·2 km shuttle links Macau with Hengqin in Zhuhai in mainland China, where there is interchange with the Zhuhai Airport Intercity Railway
Trains run every 6 min with a 2 min journey time.
Like the Seac Pai Van Line opened on November 1, the Hengqin Line was built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries with Top Builders Macau and Hou Chun Construction & Engineering Co. Work began in March 2021 at a cost of 3·46 bn patacas.
The line runs west from an interchange at Lótus on the Taipa Line, initially on elevated alignment. It then descends into a 900 m tunnel below the Shizimen canal to the underground terminus station and border crossing facilities on Hengqin Island.
The line gives Macau LRT its first cross-border connection. However, students at the University of Macau’s campus, located on land leased from Hengqin and under Macau’s jurisdiction, can use a secure walkway to travel without having to go through border checks.
- In a press conference on December 1 Raymond Tam, Macau’s incoming Secretary for Transport & Public Works, said that the new government would ‘explore further extension of the LRT line to the heart of the Macau Peninsula to solve the core traffic congestion problem.’ The 7·7 km East Line is under construction and expected to open in 2029.
