The Taitung Line (), also known as the Hua-Tung line (), is the southern section of the
Eastern Line of the
Taiwan Railways Administration
Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) is a railway operator in Taiwan. It is an agency of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, responsible for managing, maintaining, and running conventional passenger and freight railway services ...
. The line starts at the
Hualien station
Hualien () is a railway station in Hualien City, Hualien County, Taiwan served by Taiwan Railways Administration. It is the terminal station of North-link line and the starting station of Taitung line.
Overview
The station has two island platf ...
and ends at the
Taitung station
Taitung () is a railway station of Taiwan Railways Administration. It lies at the junction of the Hualien-Taitung line and the South-link line in Taitung City, Taitung County, Taiwan.
History
During the construction work of the back part of Taitu ...
. It is 161.5 km long, including the main segment of 155.7 km between Hualien and Taitung.
The coastal branch lines of Hualien and Taitung were discarded after the broadening plan in 1982. The broadcasts of the station names on Taitung line are made in five languages:
Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
,
Taiwanese Hokkien
Taiwanese Hokkien () (; Tâi-lô: ''Tâi-uân-uē''), also known as Taigi/Taigu (; Pe̍h-ōe-jī/Tâi-lô: ''Tâi-gí / Tâi-gú''), Taiwanese, Taiwanese Minnan, Hoklo and Holo, is a variety of the Hokkien language spoken natively by about 70% ...
,
Hakka
The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...
,
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
, and
Amis. The Taitung Line is the only line in Taiwan where broadcasts are made in the
Amis language
Amis ( or ) is a Formosan language of the Amis (or Ami), an indigenous people living along the east coast of Taiwan. Currently the largest of the Formosan languages, it is spoken from Hualien in the north to Taitung in the south, with another ...
.
History
The north segment from Karenkō (, now
Hualien City
Hualien City (; Wade-Giles: Hua¹-lien² Shih⁴; Hokkien POJ: ''Hoa-lian-chhī'' or ''Hoa-liân-chhī'') is a county-administered city and the county seat of Hualien County, Taiwan. It is located on the east coast of Taiwan on the Pacific Oce ...
) to Poshiko (, then Tamazato, now
Yuli) was built in 1909 and completed in 1917. The south segment from Hinan (, then Taitō, now
Taitung City
Taitung City () is a county-administered city and the county seat of Taitung County, Taiwan. It lies on the southeast coast of Taiwan facing the Pacific Ocean. Taitung City is the most populous subdivision of Taitung County and it is one of the ...
) to Rirō (, now
Guanshan) was opened in 1919 by the Taitō Development Company ().
In 1922, the Taitō Development Company bought the railroad from Karenkō to Tamazato and named it the "Taitō North Line", while the south segment from Taitō to Rirō was named the "Taitō South Line."
The construction of the connecting railway between Tamazato to Rirō began in 1921 and completed in 1926, after which the total length of the line from Karenkō (
Hualien City
Hualien City (; Wade-Giles: Hua¹-lien² Shih⁴; Hokkien POJ: ''Hoa-lian-chhī'' or ''Hoa-liân-chhī'') is a county-administered city and the county seat of Hualien County, Taiwan. It is located on the east coast of Taiwan on the Pacific Oce ...
) to Taitō (
Taitung City
Taitung City () is a county-administered city and the county seat of Taitung County, Taiwan. It lies on the southeast coast of Taiwan facing the Pacific Ocean. Taitung City is the most populous subdivision of Taitung County and it is one of the ...
) was 171.8 km.
In 1966, the ''Kuang-Hua Express'' (光華號) utilizing
diesel multiple units
A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...
started service on the line, and greatly shortening the travel time from Hualien to Taitung from 6–7 hours to 3–4 hours.
Its
gauge
Gauge ( or ) may refer to:
Measurement
* Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments
* Gauge (firearms)
* Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire
** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, es ...
was changed from
narrow gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...
to gauge in 1982 and connected with
North-link line
The North-Link Line () is the central section of the Eastern Line of the Taiwan Railways Administration. The length of its mainline is 79.2 km, and there is a 7.4 km long branch between Beipu and Hualien Port.
History
The high mountai ...
, after which the old Hualien Station was abandoned and replaced by the
Hualien railway station
Hualien () is a railway station in Hualien City, Hualien County, Taiwan served by Taiwan Railways Administration. It is the terminal station of North-link line and the starting station of Taitung line.
Overview
The station has two island plat ...
that is used now. The site of old Hualian Station was eventually turned into
Dongdamen Night Market
The Dongdamen Night Market or Dongdaemun Night Market () is a Night markets in Taiwan, night market in Hualien City, Hualien County, Taiwan. It is the largest night market in the county.
Name
''Dongdamen'' means ''big east gate'' in English du ...
in 2015, while the disused right of way has been partially turned into a pedestrian area.
In 2007, the
Environmental Protection Administration
The Environmental Protection Administration, Executive Yuan (EPA, ) is a cabinet-level executive agency responsible for protecting and conserving the environment in the Republic of China (Taiwan). This also includes, air quality, noise control, m ...
gave the line a conditional pass for an electrification project, which would boost the operating speed from 110 km/hr to 130 km/hr.
In 2009, construction began on electrification work, with
NT$
The New Taiwan dollar (code: TWD; symbol: NT$, also abbreviated as NT) is the official currency of Taiwan. The New Taiwan dollar has been the currency of Taiwan since 1949, when it replaced the Old Taiwan dollar, at a rate of 40,000 old dollars ...
15.5 billion set aside for the project.
Electrification work was completed in late 2013 with the inauguration of electric services taking place in late June 2014.
The section between Nanping and Wanrong railway stations was to be upgraded from a single-track railway to a dual-track railway and was expected to be completed by December 2020. With the existing double-track sections from Shoufeng to Nanping railway station and from Wanrong to Guangfu railway stations, it was expected that service frequency could be improved, shortening wait times.
On October 12 2020, the Ministry of Transport has approved and intends to carry out upgrading works on the Taitung Line to ensure that the entire line is double-tracked. As 69% of the line is still currently single-tracked, the project is expected to shorten wait times by up to 90 minutes with up to 16 more train services each day. Some trips can be reduced by up to 50 minutes. With an increase of 17,000 passengers per day, the dual-track railway project is expected to cost NT$25.429 billion, which will be completed 7 years after the environmental impact assessment and comprehensive planning are approved.
The Railway Bureau has stated that the project will be carried out in 2 phases. Phase 1 will include the sections north of Yuli (Hualien - Shoufeng, Guangfu - Ruisui and Sanmin - Yuli) and the section between Taitung and Zhiben and is expected to be completed by 2026. Phase 2 will include the remaining sections of the line and is expected to be completed by 2027.
Electrification of the Hualien-Taitung Line
Together with the electrification of the Hualien-Taitung Line, the following stations were upgraded.
* General Reconstruction
** Completed - Zhixue, Pinghe, Fengtian, Nanping, Fenglin, Wanrong, Guangfu, Dafu, Fuyuan, Ruisui, Sanmin, Yuli, Dongli, Dongzhu, Fuli, Chishang, Haiduan, Guanshan, Ruihe, Ruiyuan, Luye, Shanli, Taitung
* Elevated Station
** Under Construction - Hualien
** Under Planning - Ji’an
** Completed - Shoufeng
* Underground Station
** Completed - Linrong Shin Kong
Stations
References
{{Taitung Line
TRA routes
2 ft 6 in gauge railways in Taiwan
3 ft 6 in gauge railways in Taiwan