Former Mountain line

The Former Mountain line (Chinese: 舊山線; pinyin: Jiù Shānxiàn; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Kū Soaⁿ-soàⁿ) is a railway branch line in Taiwan operated by the Taiwan Railways Administration. The name literally means "old Mountain line" (another name for the Taichung line) and can refer to any section of the Taichung line that ceased operations when it was replaced by a newer rail. However, the term is most widely used to refer to the segment between Sanyi and Houli stations.

Former Mountain Line
Overview
Native name	舊山線
Status	Seasonal operation
Owner	Taiwan Railways Administration
Termini	Sanyi Houli
Stations	4
History
Opened	September 1903
Closed	24 September 1998
Technical
Line length	15.9 km (9.9 mi)
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)

Longteng Bridge

Da'an River Bridge

The line was completed in 1903 and began operations in 1908.[1] Operantions were suspended on September 24, 1998 with the opening of a newer route to the west, and all stations between Sanyi and Houli closed down. Between June 5–9, 2010, to promote tourism, the Former Mountain Line resumed service between Sanyi and Tai'an Old station using a steam locomotive numbered CK124.[2][3] The Taiwan Railways Administration also attempted to renovate the line for operation, but the construction bidding attracted no contractors. Since then, the Miaoli County Government has hosted an additional six events using steam locomotives.[4] Other than that, the line has no scheduled passenger services.

Route

The Former Mountain line is 15.9 km long and runs parallel to the Taichung line. It uses a 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge.

From Sanyi station, the line branches eastward and climbs to a height of 402.326 meters above sea level at Shengxing station, which is the highest point of any TRA track. From Shengxing, the track snakes through the mountains before passing through the site of the removed Yutengping station, bypassing Longteng Bridge, a destroyed railway bridge. Then, it crosses the Da'an River and arrives at Tai'an Old station before merging with the Taichung line again at Houli station.

Stations

Name	Chinese	Taiwanese	Hakka	Transfers and Notes	Location
Sanyi	三義	Sam-gī	Sâm-ngi	→ Taichung line	Sanyi	Miaoli County
Shengxing	勝興	Sèng-heng	Sṳn-hîn
Yutengping	魚藤坪	Hî-tîn-phiâⁿ	Ǹg-thèn-phiâng	Built in 2010 and removed in 2011. Near Longteng Bridge
Tai'an Old	泰安舊	Thài-an (Kū)	Thai-ôn (Khiu)	About 1 km from the current Tai'an Station	Houli	Taichung
Houli	后里	Āu-lí	Heu-lî	→ Taichung line

References

1. Shan, Shelley (22 February 2020). "TRA to invest NT$2.2bn to restore Old Mountain Line". Taipei Times. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
2. 楊以諾 (October 16, 2010). "試營運結束 舊山線ROT本月招商". 公視. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
3. "Steam railway makes nostalgic return on mountain line - The China Post". 2010-06-06. Retrieved 2013-11-16.
4. "舊山線是苗栗最珍貴的鐵道文化資產～苗栗從未放棄舊山線蒸汽火車復駛 地方盼了20年只盼別再畫餅充饑". 苗栗縣政府. August 25, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2019.