Lotus station

Lotus station (蓮花站; 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.

History
The station was originally named Lotus Checkpoint Station (蓮花口岸站; 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.

Construction for the station's steel superstructure formally began in August 2015. It opened on 10 December 2019 along with the rest of the Taipa line.

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.

Entrances/Exits
The station was built with two entrances/exit, 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
Lotus is currently served by the Taipa line, which runs between Barra and Taipa Ferry Terminal.

Future
The 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 Islands 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.