Three agencies under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop railway tourism along the Jiji Line (集集線).
Operated by the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA), the line was built in 1919 to provide transportation between two hydropower plants at Nantou County’s Sun Moon Lake (日月潭).
However, the line was severely damaged in the 921 Earthquake in 1999 and did not resume operations until January 2001. It has gradually become a railway mostly used for tourism.
Photo: CNA
The line has also become a popular setting to film movies and TV episodes, including a TV film titled Remember We’re in Love (記得我們愛過) that was produced by the Public Television Service.
The Jiji Line is a sister railway to Japan’s Isumi Railway and Tenryu Hamanako Railroad, partnerships that were formed in 2014 and 2016 respectively.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Hochen Tan (賀陳旦) last year entrusted Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) with “adopting” the Jiji Line when the THSRC celebrated its 10th anniversary.
Yesterday’s memorandum was signed by the TRA, THSRC and the Tourism Bureau, with the agencies committing to working together to develop tourism along the corridor created by the Jiji Line.
The TRA had been thinking about how to change its business model before the high-speed rail system was launched, agency Director-General Jason Lu (鹿潔身) said, adding that the agency performs even better than before after entering into competition with the high-speed rail system.
“However, we have to consider development in other areas, and railway tourism is one of them,” he said, adding that the agency would continue offering cruise and charter trains for tour groups.
Lu said the Jiji Line is the longest of the three branch lines operated by the TRA.
The Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program, a national program to revamp the nation’s infrastructure, has allocated NT$2.36 billion (US$81.2 million) to improve the infrastructure of the Jiji Line and enhance the safety of the embankment, he said.
The partnership with THSRC would further contribute to the development of railway tourism, he said, adding that this could help boost TRA revenue.
“As it is a public transport system, the TRA’s ticket prices are highly regulated by the government,” Lu said. “We have not been able to adjust our ticket prices for 23 years. Railway tourism is a great opportunity for us to design tour packages with reasonable prices.”
“Not only do we need railways, but we also need partnerships with local governments,” he said.
The price of a railway tour must reasonably reflect the costs of operating tourism railways, the rarity of tourism resources and the characteristics of the railway, Hochen said.
“This does not mean that we have to set a higher price for railway tours,” he said. “It would be unreasonable if it is higher than the ticket price of the high-speed rail system, especially when you compare the speed and construction standards of a branch line with those of the high-speed railway system.”
Granting more flexibility in how railway tour prices are set would mean amending some of the relevant regulations, Hochen said, adding that such an amendment would take about a year to complete.
The nation’s first railway tourism school is to open in June, Tourism Bureau Director-General Chou Yong-hui (周永暉) said, adding that it is housed in a renovated elementary school.
The bureau plans to work with the TRA and THSRC to create specially decorated trains to promote railway tours on the Jiji Line, Chou added.
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