The main rail route circumnavigating Taiwan would be fully electrified once the South Link Line upgrade is completed this year, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications’ Railway Bureau said on Tuesday last week.
The South Link Line is about 98.2km long and the work to electrify the line was challenging, as it had to be done after trains stopped running at midnight each day, the bureau said.
Moreover, a section between Duoliang (多良) and Longsi (瀧溪) in Taitung’s Taimali Township (太麻里) had to be moved because there was insufficient headroom in the tunnels to add electrification infrastructure, it said.
Photo provided by the Taiwan Railways Administration
As most of the South Link Line is in remote areas, most of the materials, machines and personnel had to be delivered via rail, the bureau said.
The section between Chaochou Township (潮州) and Fangliao Township (枋寮) in Pingtung County has had its electrification completed and the upgraded line has been in use since December last year, it said.
That left the section between Fangliao and Jhihben (知本) Station in Taitung as the only one in the round-Taiwan rail system yet to be electrified, it said.
Once the South Link Line is fully electrified, Taroko Express and Puyuma Express services can operate on the line, providing eastbound travelers a fast, safe, scenic, comfortable and energy-efficient rail service, the bureau said.
This would help boost the east coast’s tourism industry, it added.
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