Lotus station
{{Short description|Light rail station in Macau}}
{{about||the station in Sydney|Loftus railway station, Sydney|the station in Yorkshire|Loftus railway station, Yorkshire}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox station
| name = Lotus
| name_lang = en
| native_name = 蓮花
| native_name_lang = zh-Hant-MO
| former = Lotus Checkpoint
| image = Lotus Station 01-10-2023.jpg
| caption = Exterior of Lotus station
| code = LOC
| lines = {{rcb|Macau LRT|Taipa|inline=croute}}{{rcb|Macau LRT|Hengqin|inline=croute}}
| structure = Elevated
| platforms = 2 side platforms
| opened = {{start-date|10 December 2019}}{{Cite news |date=2019-12-06 |title=Macao LRT Opens next Tuesday, Free Rides until End of the Year |work=Macao Light Rapid Transit Corporation, Limited |url=https://www.mlm.com.mo/en/news_detail/article/kbk7s0ts.html |access-date=2020-09-09}}{{cite book|url= | script-title=zh: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 |publisher=Macao Daily NewsA3版 |date=2015-11-18}}{{in lang|zh-hant}}
| address = Estrada Flor de Lótus, Cotai, Macau
| services = {{Adjacent stations|system=Macau LRT
|line1 =Taipa|left1=Cotai West|right1=Union Hospital|
|line2 =Hengqin|left2=|right2=Hengqin}}
}}
{{Infobox Chinese
| t = 蓮花站
| j = {{kCantonese|蓮花站}}
| pt = Estação do Lótus
| showflag = j
}}
Lotus station ({{lang-zh|蓮花站}}; {{langx|pt|Estação do Lótus}}) is a transfer station on the Taipa line and the Hengqin 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.
History
The station was originally named Lotus Checkpoint Station ({{lang-zh|蓮花口岸站}}; {{langx|pt|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.{{Cite web |url=https://www.mtr.com.mo/en/WhatsNew/LatestNews/Page-30278 |date=2023-08-07|publisher= MTR (Macau)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230908135538/https://www.mtr.com.mo/en/WhatsNew/LatestNews/Page-30278 |title=LOTUS CHECKPOINT STATION RENAMES TO LOTUS STATION, SIGNAGES OF TAIPA LINE WILL BE REPLACED GRADUALLY|access-date=2023-09-08 |archive-date=2023-09-08}}
Construction for the station's steel superstructure formally began in August 2015.{{cite news |title=輕軌多個車站陸續展開鋼結構安裝 |url=http://www.chengpou.com.mo/dailynews/107107.html |work=Jornal Cheng Pou |location=Macau |access-date=2023-07-10}} It opened on 10 December 2019 along with the rest of the Taipa line.{{Cite web |url=http://www.git.gov.mo/tc/album_detail.aspx?a_id=1300004 |date=2017-01-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170109184444/http://www.git.gov.mo/tc/album_detail.aspx?a_id=1300004 |script-title=zh:工程剪影 |access-date=2019-08-20 |archive-date=2017-01-09 |script-website=zh:運輸基建辦公室 |trans-work=Gabinete para as Infra-estruturas de Transportes}}
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 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.
On 2 December 2024, the station became 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. Passengers are able to transfer from Taipa line for Hengqin station at Lotus station. The entire Hengqin extension line, including the platforms at this station, are 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.
Layout
=Taipa Line Platform=
| border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4" table
| rowspan="4" style="border-top:solid 1px gray;border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" width="70" |2/F | colspan="4" style="border-right:solid 2px black;border-left:solid 2px black;border-bottom:solid 2px black;border-top:solid 1px gray; text-align:center;" |Side platform; doors open on the left |
| style="border-bottom:solid 1px lightgray;" width="50" |Platform Floor
| style="border-bottom:solid 1px lightgray;" width="50" | | style="border-bottom:solid 1px lightgray;" width="350" |{{rcb|Macau LRT|Taipa|inline=croute}} to {{stl|Macau LRT|Taipa Ferry Terminal}} ({{stl|Macau LRT|Union Hospital}}) | style="border-bottom:solid 1px lightgray;" width="50" |→ |
| Platform Floor
|← |{{rcb|Macau LRT|Taipa|inline=croute}} to {{stl|Macau LRT|Barra}} ({{stl|Macau LRT|Cotai West}}) | | |
| colspan="4" style="border-top:solid 2px black;border-right:solid 2px black;border-left:solid 2px black;border-bottom:solid 1px gray; text-align:center;" |Side platform; doors open on the left |
| style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" |1/F
| colspan="2" style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" |Tickets Level | colspan="2" style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" |Customer service, ticket machine and toilet, and {{rcb|Macau LRT|Hengqin|inline=croute}} interchange platform |
| style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" |Ground Floor
| colspan="2" style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" | | colspan="2" style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" |Exits and entrances |
Entrances/Exits
File:Lotus_Station_to_Exit_A_26-09-2023.jpg
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, the original Exit B was closed and later demolished. Exit A connects to Studio City by way of a footbridge.
- A: Studio City {{access icon|15px|Wheelchair user access}}
B: Lotus Checkpoint (exit closed as of August 2020)
Services
Lotus is currently served by the Taipa line, which runs between Barra and Taipa Ferry Terminal, and the Hengqin line, which runs between this station and Hengqin station in the Macao-administered area of Hengqin, Zhuhai.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{coord|22.139475|113.559831|type:railwaystation_region:MO|display=title}}
External links
- [https://www.mlm.com.mo/en/station_locationDetail/article/kblxnr4t.html Lotus Station] information on Macau LRT website
{{Macau LRT navbox}}