Jiji line - WikiHQ

The Jiji line () is a branch line of the Taiwan Railway, located in Changhua and Nantou counties in Taiwan. It is a narrow-gauge railway, and the longest branch line in Taiwan. The line is operated as a heritage railway, catering to tourists wanting to visit this part of central Taiwan.

What is now the Jiji line was originally constructed to help deliver construction materials to a power plant at Sun Moon Lake. Replacing a push car railway that previously covered the same route, it greatly expanded capacity and soon began to be used to export goods from the region, as well as carry passengers. Significant exports included wood and bananas. This spurred economic growth along the line in the first half of the 20th century.

When the economic situation shifted, the line began to lose money. The TRA proposed to close the line in 1986, but after resistance from local residents, the line was instead repurposed to attract tourism to the region. This effort was successful, spurring renewed economic growth along the line. The line has since developed partnerships with Japanese lines, promoted leopard cat conservation, and operated a museum train.

The success of the line prompted its extension west to better connect with the Taiwan High Speed Rail line. However, the line has faced significant difficulties regarding maintenance, especially given its old age, and parts of the line have been closed since 2021. Work is underway not only to repair the line, but also to widen its tunnels to allow for larger trains with increased capacity.

History

Construction

During the early 20th century, Taiwan was under Japanese rule. The government sought to increase natural resource extraction. A push car railway was built from Puli to Ershui, to transport goods such as sugar. These push cars were stored at Checheng. At Ershui, goods could be transferred to the Western Trunk line. When the government began to promote industrialization, generating power became a key priority. Mostly built along the older push car line, Whereas the push car line had a gauge of , the new line had a gauge of . Push car routes remained in use past Checheng.

After being initially used as a private freight line,

Goods and passengers

After the power plant was completed, the Jiji line was handed over to the railway department and became a regular railway. The line provided an easy way to transfer logs from nearby heavily forested mountains. with early trains consisting of one goods carriage and one passenger carriage. Economic growth along the line followed. Bananas were collected at Jiji, which served as the administrative capital, before onward export. Banana exports peaked in 1930. This was the first line in Taiwan to be explicitly aimed at tourism. The use of the wooden Jiji railway station in an advertisement in the 1990s helped drive interest in the line, and it began to carry about 1,000 tourists every weekend. Due to action taken to stabilize the damaged tunnels, use of the tunnels became restricted to smaller diesel locomotives. of track that was bypassed near Zhuoshui railway station was converted into a memorial for the earthquake. Two old steam engines, CK101 and CK124, were brought in to reopen the line.

Following a trend of railway partnerships between Taiwan and Japan that began in 2012, on 28 October 2014 the Jiji line became twinned with the Isumi Line in Japan. Under the agreement, individuals with used tickets from one of the lines would be able to ride the other. The Jiji line, which was then , was the longest branch line in Taiwan, while the Isumi Line was long. Like the Jiji line, the Isumi Line was also primarily a tourist line. The agreement was the fourth Japan-Taiwan railway partnership. In 2016, a similar partnership was established with Japan's Tenryū Hamanako Line. On 25 January 2018, a memorandum was signed between the HSR corporation, TRA, and the Tourism Bureau to further develop tourism along the Jiji line.

In 2019, trains on the line were internally decorated with drawings of leopard cats in a joint project between the Tourism Bureau and the TRA. The drawings were criticized as resembling leopards rather than leopard cats, and it was later discovered that they were based on a Shutterstock drawing of a leopard. On 26 August, the Tourism Bureau announced it would work with the Endemic Species Research Institute to develop new imagery. The next day, the Russian designer of the Shutterstock leopard drawing shared three leopard cat drawings, stating they were free to use in a message supporting leopard cat conservation in Taiwan. The Tourism Bureau rejected the designs, but Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung criticized this decision and instructed the Bureau to invite the designer to Taiwan. Both Lin and the designer were present for the relaunch of the train with new designs on 18 September.

On 16 August 2021, a landslide blocked travel beyond Jiji. While travel resumed on 20 August, it was halted again on 26 August due to concerns about the deformation of one of the tunnel walls. It was found that the damage was caused by extensive rainfall. On 18 May 2022, rainfall delayed the repairs further by causing another landslide. With repairs expected to continue until March 2023, businesses in Checheng requested a reduction in rent while the railway was out of service. A further three landslides occurred before March 2023, pushing the expected repairs into 2025, and raising consideration of rerouting the line through a new tunnel.

On 14 January 2022, the line's 100th anniversary was celebrated at Jiji railway station, attracting rail enthusiasts from throughout the country. The 1,000 commemorative tickets produced for the event sold out within an hour.

In May 2024 it was decided to take the opportunity to undertake other needed maintenance alongside the already ongoing repair works. The line was closed beyond Zhuoshui railway station, and the work would include expanding the tunnels to accommodate larger trains that can carry more tourists. The line up to at least Jiji station is expected to reopen within 2025. The full line is expected to reopen in 2026 or 2027, with capacity to run a train every 60 minutes rather than every 80 minutes.

Route information

thumb|The Jiji line is marked by a C in the center of the map

The Jiji line is the longest of Taiwan's branch lines and one of three operated by the TRA. The route largely follows the Zhuoshui River, the longest river in Taiwan, although after Shuili railway station it instead follows a smaller tributary.

The Jiji railway station is registered as a historic building under the by the Bureau of Cultural Heritage. It is considered to have both historical and cultural value, as it retains the Japanese-style architecture it was built with in 1933, making it one of the few remaining Japanese-style stations in Taiwan. Tourism has revived the area, with the former school and some logging buildings in Checheng being repurposed due to new demands. There is also one eastbound run daily between Yuanlin railway station and Checheng station. One round trip per day takes place between Changhua Station and Checheng Station, however, these depart very early in the morning and very late at night.

Westbound there are seven Checheng-Ershui runs, two Checheng-Tianzhong runs,!!Taiwanese!!Hakka!!Transfers and Notes!!colspan=2|Location

|Tianzhong