Sidings of Governmental Railways on Taiwan Island
This page lists all Government Railway and High-Speed lines on Taiwan Island ordered by main, branch and sidings lines as well as planned lines. Further details of the lines are availabe underneath the links in the sub menu listed above. The historic order of the opening of the main and branch lines can be found under menu item History. Further details on each line are described below. All Government Railway Lines except the East Coast Line were built in cape gauge (1,067mm).
| Line | From | To | Length (km) | Status | Remark | Map (click on map for large image) |
| Hualien Port Line | Hualien/ Beipu | Meitu | 7.4 | in service | In order to facilitate the construction of the North Link Line, the port at Hualien received a new connection in cape gauge in 1975. It was used for the transportation of material for the construction of the North Link Line and the re-gauging and realignment of the East Coast/Taitung Line. The line still exists today, but is only used rarely. |  |
| Taichung Port Line | Taichung Port Station | Taichung Port | 7.8 | in service | To meet the growing exports, the government built a new modern port near Taichung. In 1976, it was connected with the coast section of the Western/Trunk Line. Currently, only sporadic goods trains that transport corn and wheat use the branch line. |  |
| Kaohisung Port Line (First Linggang) | Kaohsiung Port | Kaohsiung | 13.6 | closed & dismantled | The Kaohsiung port line connects the old terminus of the Western/Trunk Line at the old harbour of Kaohsiung with the new station in Kaohsiung (opened in 1941) by surrounding the city on the southern and eastern side. Close to the new station, the line also connected the large Qianzhen Depot with the Pingtung und Western/Trunk Line. The port line was finally closed in 2018; some sections were already closed earlier to give space for the new circle line tram. Once finished, the circle line tram should run on the complete track bed of the former port line. |  |
| Kaohisung Port Line (Second Linggang) | Qianzhen Depot | China Steel Corp. | 8.6 | closed & dismantled | The port of Kaohsiung and attached industries expanded to the southeast in the 1970s. In 1977, they were connected to the existing port line. The branch line was closed in 2011. | |
| Keelung Harbour Line | Keelung | Keelung Harbour | 5.2 | closed & dismantled | The first piers at Keelung harbour were already connected to the first railway line from Keelung to Taipei in 1891. The line expanded together with the port during the upcoming decades. Especially locomotives and railcars exported from other countries arrived here and were directly unloaded onto the port line. With the partial lowering of Keelung station, the branch line lost its connection with the railway network and was thus closed. Eventually, a new tramline might be built on the still existing rails. |  |
| Songshan Airport Line | Songshan | Songshan Airport | 1.5 | closed & dismantled | In 1936, the Japanese Army opened the airport of Songshan close to Taipei and connected it via rail to the Western/Trunk Line. The connection was closed in 1976. |  |
| Pingtung Airport Line | Pingtung | Pingtung Airport | 3.7 | closed & dismantled | The airport near Pingtung opened in the 1920s with a connection to the Pingtung Line at Pingtung station. The army used the connection until 1997. |  |
| Hsinchu Airport Line | Hsinchu | Hsinchu Airport | 4.3 | closed & dismantled | In 1937, the airport at Hsinchu was connected to the Western/Trunk Line at Hsinchu station. The army used the line until it was closed in 1997. |  |
| Toufen Industrial branch line | Zhunan | Toufen Industrial zone | 3.3 | closed & dismantled | The government opened a large industrial area in Toufen near Zhunan after the war. Several factories had a railway connection to Zhunan station on the Western/Trunk Line. The industrial area still exists, the railways connection was closed in 2002. |  |
| Asia Branch | Tamsui | British Merchant Warehouse | 0.3 | closed & dismantled | When the Tamsui Line (see above under branch lines) was opened in 1901, several warehouses at Tamsui harbour were connected to the terminus via a short branch line. It was closed 1971. | no map available :-( |
| Sanzhangli Branch Line | Huashan | Army Arsenal | 2.0 | closed & dismantled | The Japanese Army connected its arsenal in Taipei with the Western/Trunk Line in the 1930s. After the war, it was taken over by the Kuomintang. The arsenal and railway line were closed in 1986. | |
| Zhonghe Line | Banqiao | Zhonghe | 6.2 | closed & dismantled | This line south of Taipei city centre replaced the Xindian Line (see above under branch lines) for transport of coal from the coal mines south of Taipei. In the late 1960s, it was planned to extend this line to a bypass around Taipei station for goods train. The plans were never realized and the line closed in 1990. The Zhonghe Line of Taipei’s metro MRT partly runs on the former track bed | |
| Chiayi Petrochina Branch | Chiayi/ Shuishang | Petrochina | 7.2 | closed & dismantled | The Japanese built a refinery south of Chiayi in the 1930s. It was connected to the Western/Trunk Line. The refinery is still in operation. However, since 2003 it is not connected to the railway network anymore. |  |
| Chiayi Airport Line | Chiayi/ Shuishang | Chiayi Airport | ? | closed & dismantled | The airport south of Chiayi had a connection to the Western/Trunk Line built during the Japanese occupation. It is now closed. Further details are unknown to me. | |
| Hengchun Airport Line | ? | Hengchun Airport | ? | closed & dismantled | The airport at Hengchun on the southern tip of Taiwan Island had a railway connection. As it was not close to any other railway line, the line most probably just ran to the harbour at Hengchun. Further details are unknown to me. | no map available :-( |
| Tobacco Factory | ? | ? | ? | closed & dismantled | no details found so far :-( | no map available :-( |
| Relief Agency | ? | ? | ? | closed & dismantled | no details found so far :-( | no map available :-( |
| Datong Yunli Xingyun | ? | ? | ? | closed & dismantled | no details found so far :-( | no map available :-( |