The Alishan Forestry Railway and Australia’s Zig Zag Railway yesterday signed a sisterhood pact to facilitate the maintenance of steam locomotives used for tourism by Taiwan.
Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) and Daniel Zolfel, chief executive officer of the New South Wales-based Zig Zag Railway, signed the agreement at a spike-hammering ceremony at Beimen Station (北門) in Chiayi City.
Alishan and Zig Zag operate on tourist-centric zig zag lines, also known as switchbacks, which face unique challenges from natural disasters and wear, making a strategic alliance valuable, Lin said.
Photo: Tsai Tsung-hsun, Taipei Times
It took Alishan Forestry Railway 15 years to repair rails that had been severed by Typhoon Morakot in 2009 and Typhoon Doujuan in 2015, while the Zig Zag Railway labored for 16 years to recover from bushfires and flood damage, he said.
The cooperative pact is the product of many exchanges conducted over two years, he said.
Australia’s expertise in the maintenance and repair of antique steam engines is particularly important to Alishan Forestry Railway, which owns geared Shay steam locomotives, originally designed by American entrepreneur Ephraim Shay, Lin said.
Photo: Tsai Tsung-hsun, Taipei Times
Assistance from Zig Zag would be crucial for Alishan Forestry Railway’s bid to make its steam engines, which were purchased between 1912 and 1918, fit for driving in mountainous regions that are key to the company’s tourist mission, he said.
Zolfel has inspected Alishan Forestry Railway’s steam engines and preliminarily declared them safe to operate in the mountains, Lin added.
The sister railway pact would aid in the companies’ quest to preserve railroad history and cultural heritage amid climate challenges, Zolfel said.
The cooperation would include technical assistance on matters such as locomotive maintenance and boiler operations, joint marketing and development of souvenirs, he said.
Chiayi Mayor Huang Min-hui (黃敏惠) said the railway operators’ friendship pact is a pledge to the future of the city’s economic and cultural life, which had been nourished by its railroads.
More than 6,000 historical structures in Chiayi were built in connection to railroads, she said.
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