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The Alishan Forest Railway (阿里山森林鐵路) is an 86 km network of narrow gauge (2 ft 6 in (762 mm)) railways running up to and throughout the popular mountain resort of Alishan in Chiayi County, Taiwan. The narrow gauge lines were originally constructed by the Japanese Colonial Government in 1912 to facilitate the logging of cypress and Taiwania wood, however today the line caters mostly to tourists. Passenger carriages were first added to the trains in 1918.
Unlike the national rail system administered by the Taiwan Railway Administration, the Alishan railway is managed by the Forestry Bureau. The system is currently operated using diesel locomotives, although there are occasional special public runs using the old steam powered Shay locomotives. [1]
Taiwan's government has listed the forest railway as a potential World Heritage Site. However, Taiwan's exclusion from the United Nations means it is unlikely to be formally recognized as a WHS in the near future.
In 2003, 17 people were killed and 156 injured when a train derailed near Alishan Railway Station [2].
Alishan Forest Railway was privatized by Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) in June, 2008 [3].
Spiral loop in the Alishan Line
The main line runs from the city of Chiayi (elevation 30 m), to the final station of Alishan (elevation 2216 m). The vegetation along the way changes from tropical to temperate and finally alpine. The line features many switchbacks on the way up the mountain.
- Main Line (Alishan Line/阿里山線)
- Chiayi (嘉義) - Alishan (阿里山)
- Includes several steep gradients (max. 6.26%), a spiral and four switchbacks; longest line with most dramatic climate change.
- Alishan (阿里山) - Jhushan (祝山)
- Early morning trains, popular for viewing the sunrise over Jade Mountain (玉山).
- Alishan (阿里山) - The Stone Monkey (石猴)
- Closed due to earthquake damage.
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