(Yicai Global) Dec. 10 -- Macau Light Rapid Transit, the first urban train transit in China's Macau Special Administrative Region, will begin operating today to provide residents with convenient and reliable green transit services and improve local transport, Chinese state broadcaster China Central Television reported today.

The first LRT is the 9.3-kilometer Taipa line, which has 11 stations and serves  the island's major neighborhoods, old town and tourist attractions and connects it with Taipa Ferry Terminal, Macau International Airport and the Cotai Frontier Post adjacent to Zhuhai in southeastern Guangdong province.

The first train on the line will depart from Taipa Ferry Terminal this afternoon. Riders can take the LRT trains for free from today to Dec. 31, and the ticket price thereafter will be unveiled in the near future.

The regional government proposed the LRT construction plan in 2002, broke ground on the train route in 2012 and finished its construction and began installation and debugging it in 2017. Macau LRT services are set to expand as construction of other lines advances.

The Taipa line will be extended to the A-Ma Temple scenic area, and another three-station Shek Pai Wan line is under planning, per the LRT plans the Macau government has released.

Editor: Ben Armour