Taiwan Railways Administration

History

The railway between Keelung and Hsinchu was completed during the Qing era in 1893.{{sfnp|Davidson|1903|pp=620-621|ps=: "The first Formosa railway was built by the Chinese government and was completed in 1893. On the arrival of the Japanese, the line, some 100 kilometers in length, came into their possession. It was found to be in such wretched condition, however, that a satisfactory train service could not be maintained. The rolling stock was also limited and entirely unsuited to the requirements.

Accordingly work was commenced on the line at once. The Kelung-Taihoku branch was completely reconstructed as so to avoid the numerous short curves and the steep grades. The line leading from Taihoku to the south received also some attention, the total cost of these improvements reaching nearly two million yen. The railway was at this time under the direct control of the Military Department. In 1897, it came under the control of the Civil Department. It was the intention at one time to hand it over to the private railway company organized in Japan for the purpose of completing the Formosa railway system. The private railway company, however, failed to obtain public support, and in 1898 the Formosan government announced its intention of carrying on the work itself. Under the able direction of Chief Engineer Hasegawa the plans were soon formulated, and in 1899 work was commenced on the southern line from Takow north to Tainan, a distance of 28 miles. This section was completed in November, 1900. The Kelung and Shinchiku (Teckcham), lines were repaired, much rolling stock was added, and in the fall of 1900 work was commenced on the short branch line from Taihoku, (Taipeh) to Tamsui, (Hobe), which was completed in June 1901. There is a great deal of traffic between the port Tamsui and Taihoku and its suburbs, Banka and Daitotei (Twatutia). The new line runs via Maruyama, Shirin, Hokuto, and Kantau."}} In 1895, the Qing Empire ceded Formosa (Taiwan) to the Empire of Japan after the First Sino-Japanese War. The line was about 100 km in length but in a poor condition when the Japanese arrived. The railway was rebuilt and expanded under the of the Government-General of Taiwan during Japanese rule.

Following the surrender of Japan in the aftermath of World War II, TRA was founded as a government organisation that falls under transport office of Taiwan Provincial Government in 1948. In 1998, it was transferred to the Ministry of Transportation and Communication (MOTC) of the central government and employed around 13,500 people (4,700 in transportation and 7,700 in maintenance titles) and directly operated some 682 route miles of 3’6” (1,067 mm) gauge railways. Three mainlines form a complete circle around the island. TRA's West Coast line and Badu-Hualien section feature mostly double-track, electrification, modern colour light and cab signalling, overrun protection, and centralized traffic control (CTC). South-link line, east coast Taitung (converted from 762 mm gauge), and three “tourist” branches are non-electrified single-track with passing sidings.

Corporatization of TRA

Because of the several hundred-billions TWD of liabilities, and the legal person type of TRA is considered a block for elasticity operations of railway systems, there were several campaigns and groups set up that aim to take privatization and corporatization actions for TRA since 1990s. In May 2022 the Legislative Yuan approved the Act for Establishment of State-owned Taiwan Railway Co., Ltd. The legislation provided that TRA will transit to a state-owned railway company, set up a fund to handle debts of TRA, retain its employees, and consider raising salaries by 3~5%. TRA was incorporated as Taiwan Railway Corporation on January 1, 2024.

Notes

Words in native languages

References

Citations

Sources

References

1. "Transportation". ROC Government Information Office.
2. "Statistics".
3. "[http://www.railway.gov.tw/en/contact.aspx Contact Us] {{Webarchive. link. (19 April 2019 ." Taiwan Railways Administration. Retrieved on March 1, 2014. "ADD: No.3, Beiping W. Rd., Jhongjheng District, Taipei City 100, Taiwan (R.O.C.)(Zip Code10041)" - [http://www.railway.gov.tw/tw/ Address in Chinese] {{Webarchive). link. (31 July 2018 : "{{lang). zh-hant. 機關地址：臺北市北平西路三號 （郵遞區號10041）"
4. (1903). "Formosa under Japanese rule". Japan Society.
5. Abbott, James (ed.) Jane’s World Railways, 38th Ed., Coulsdon, Surrey, England, 1996.
6. "Transportation Research Board Compendium of Papers Online Portal: Sea…".
7. Taiwan Railways Administration, Ministry of Transportation and Communications. (2003). link
8. Lu, Yifeng. (27 May 2022). "台鐵公司化三讀通過 交通部年底完成16條子法審議". [[UDN Taiwan]].
9. Preston, Robert. (2024-01-02). "TRA becomes Taiwan Railway Corporation". [[International Railway Journal]].