Rail transport in Taiwan
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Ddm_2004_030_Kaoping_River.jpg/300px-Ddm_2004_030_Kaoping_River.jpg)
The island of Taiwan has a very extensive railway network of around 1,102 km (TRA-Yearbook 2006). Of this, around 654 km are double-track and around 448 km are single-track. Although the railroad is no longer as important as it used to be, Taiwan's population density makes the railroad an important means of transport, especially along the densely populated western corridor.
The railroad was the grand inspector of the Qing Dynasty , Liu Mingchuan , brought in 1888 to Taiwan. The first steam locomotive was the "Teng Yun", which originally ran on the route between Shanghai and Wusung. In 1888, Liu Ming Chuan gave orders to bring two locomotives to Taiwan. The "Teng Yun" had the road number 01410 and was delivered together with seven other locomotives by the Hohenzollern Corporation for Locomotive Construction (Düsseldorf). The "Teng Yun" ran on the routes in Taiwan until 1924 and is now a monument locomotive in the "New Park" in Taipei. The first, around 29 km long, line in Taiwan was built between Keelung and Taipei in 1887 and went into operation in 1891. The line between Taipei and Hsinchu (around 78 km) followed in 1888 and went into operation in 1893.
During the Japanese rule (1895–1945) the railway on the island, then known as Formosa, was expanded. These railway lines were primarily used to transport raw materials (especially wood and coal, but also gold).
Since there are no railroads on the Penghu , Kinmen , Matsu and other smaller islands belonging to the Republic of China, the main island of Taiwan is the only part of what is now the Republic of China with rail traffic.
Long-distance transport
Taiwan High Speed Rail
Since 2007, the Taiwan High Speed Rail , a system of high-speed trains based on Shinkansen technology, has been running along the western corridor between the capital Taipei in the north and the port city of Kaohsiung in the south. The track width is 1435 mm.
Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA)
The TRA operates most of the passenger and freight traffic on Taiwan's main line, which forms a closed ring around the island, and on three branch lines (Pingxi Line, Neiwan Line and Jiji Line). In addition, there are two feeder lines, opened in 2011, which connect the Hsinchu and Tainan stations of the Taiwan High Speed Rail with the respective city centers. The route on the east coast, which was previously only used by diesel multiple units, has now been completely electrified. Taroko Express trains based on the series 885 from JR Kyushu have been running on this route since spring 2007 . In 2013 the Puyuma-Express went into service , which reaches top speeds of 150 km / h and is therefore the fastest train in the TRA's network. On January 15, 2019, TRA signed a contract with Hitachi for the delivery of 50 12-car intercity sets. They are expected to be delivered from 2021. Since 1989 the railway ring, which connects the east and west coast, has had a uniform gauge of 1067 mm.
City express trains
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b8/SiaobitanMRT.jpg/300px-SiaobitanMRT.jpg)
With the growing urbanization of Taiwan, various light rail systems have emerged and more are planned.
- Taipei Metro
- The TRTS (also known as MRT or Metro Taipei) operates an extensive light rail and subway network in the capital Taipei and surrounding areas.
- Taoyuan Airport MRT
- The line connects Taipei Main Railway Station , Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taoyuan HSRT Station . Construction began in 2006 and the line went into operation in March 2017.
- Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit
- In 2008, a two-line subway network began operating in Kaohsiung .
- Kaohsiung Light Rail
- A light rail system under construction in downtown Kaohsiung.
- Taichung Metropolitan Area MRI System
- The project was approved in 2004. The start of operation of the first line is planned for 2015 at the earliest.
Historic narrow-gauge railways
Around 1933 there were 18 privately owned narrow-gauge railways in Taiwan with a total length of 2296 km, of which 503 km were used for local public passenger and freight transport.
Surname | Length (as of 1933) |
Gauge | address | Subscribed capital | Paid-in capital | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dai Nihon Soito KK | 433 km | 610 mm | Kobi-gun, Tainan-shu, Taiwan | 51,416,600 yen | 45,779,100 yen | Sugar factory, local public transport |
Ensuiko Seito KK | 317 km | 610 mm | Shin-ei-gun, Taiman-shu, Taiway | 29,250,000 yen | 17,437,500 yen | Sugar factory, local public transport |
Irrigation Works Railway | 350 Shimo, Toto, Kagi, Taiwan | |||||
Keelung Tanko KK | Keelung, Taiwan | Coal mining | ||||
Meiji Seito KK | 465 km | 610 mm | Mato, Sobun-gun, Tainan-shu, Taiwan | 39,200,000 yen | Sugar factory, local public transport | |
Niitaka Seito KK | 206 km | 610 mm | Churyo-sho, Shoka-gun, Taichu-shu, Taiwan | 28,000,000 yen | 14,200,000 yen | Sugar factory, local public transport |
Sango Koshi | Taichu-shu, Taiwan | Sugar factory | ||||
Shinko Seito KK | 25 km | 600 mm | Sanshicho, Hozan-gun, Takao-shu, Taiwan | 2,200,000 yen | 1,200,000 yen | Sugar factory, local public transport |
Showa Seito KK | Goketsu-sho, Tato-gun, Taihoku-shu, Taiwan | |||||
Taichu Keitetsu KK | 19 Toyohara-gai, Taichu-shu, Taiwan | 980,000 yen | Local public transport | |||
Taihoku Tetsudo KK | 10 km | 1067 mm | Taihoku, Taiwan | 1,000,000 yen | 500,000 yen | Railway company |
Taito Seito KK | 13 km | 610 mm | Taito-gai, Taiwan | Sugar factory | ||
Taiwan Electric Power Company Railway | 1067 mm | Taihoku, Taiwan | Power plants | |||
Taiwan Mining Company Ltd. | Kinkaseki, Keelung-gun, Taiwan | Mining | ||||
Taiwan Hori Saibai KK | Choshu-gun, Takao-shu, Taiwan | Pineapple plantations | ||||
Taiwan Seito KK | 590 km | 610 mm | Heito-gai, Tokao-shu, Taiwan | 63,000,000 yen | 43,080,000 yen | Sugar factory, local public transport |
Teikoku Seito K.-K. | 158 km | 1067 mm | Taichu, Taiwan | 18,000,000 yen | 16,200,000 yen | Sugar factory, local public transport |
Kaisha or Toro | 1247 km | 457 or 508 mm | Hand-operated railways with 4760 lorries, rail weight per meter 5 to 6 kg / m |
Today's industrial and museum railways
Originally built to transport industrial products, these routes have now become a tourist attraction.
- Alishan Forest Railway
- A narrow gauge connection from Chiayi to the popular mountain resort of Alishan . The line was originally built in 1912 by the Japanese Colonial Administration for the timber industry. Now the railway mainly transports tourists.
- Taipingshan Forest Railway
- A former forest railway that was operated as a museum railway for a while after it was closed.
- Luodong Forest Railway
- A former forest railway that was in operation from 1924 to 1979 and is to be reopened as a museum railway.
- Wūlái Táichē
- A formerly hand-operated train .
- Sugar Railroad in Taiwan
- A considerable number of narrow-gauge railways mainly in central and southern Taiwan, originally operated by Meiji Sugar Co. Ltd. during the Japanese rule. were built for the transport of sugar cane , but could also carry out limited travel. Scheduled passenger traffic was discontinued in 1982. In 2003, traffic was resumed on some short routes.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Taiwan orders 50 inter-city trainsets on railwaygazette.com (English), accessed February 10, 2019
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from April 28, 2013 on WebCite ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s World Survey of Foreign Railways. United States. Foreign and Domestic Commerce Bureau, 1933. p. 408.