Dongshi line

Dongshi Line
Railway bridge across the Dajia River in August 1991
Overview
Native name	東勢線
Owner	Taiwan Railways Administration
Termini	Fengyuan Dongshi
Stations	5
Service
Type	Heavy rail
Operator(s)	Taiwan Railways Administration
History
Opened	12 January 1959 (1959-01-12)
Closed	1 September 1991 (1991-09-01)
Technical
Line length	14.1 km (8.8 mi)
Track gauge	3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
Electrification	None

The Dongshi line (Chinese: 東勢線; pinyin: Dōngshìxiàn) was a railway line of the Taiwan Railways Administration. The line was a branch line of the Taichung Line and stretched between Fengyuan and Dongshi in Taichung, Taiwan. After the line's abolishment in 1991, the Taichung County government turned the route into a paved bike path known as the Dongfeng Bicycle Greenway.

History

The Dongshih Hakka Cultural Park was converted from the old Dongshi Station building

The line was first constructed in 1959 to transport lumber from Dasyueshan. It ran a similar route to the defunct Baxianshan Forest Railway between Fengyuan and Eight Immortals Mountain. The entire line was single-tracked and not electrified; the only passing loop was at Shihgang Station.

When the railway was completed in 1959, a large opening ceremony was held at Dongshi. Former Dongshi station master Weizheng Yang recounted that "Tungshih station was packed with people... not everyone has ridden a train before... at the sight of the steam engine thundering down the tracks, everyone cheered." In Shigang, the tracks cross right above a waterfall, which became a well-known vista point.

Aside from transporting lumber, the line also transported passengers, mainly students. The line also transported concrete for the construction of Techi Dam between 1969 and 1974. However, with the closure of lumber industry at Dasyueshan in 1973, ridership sharply declined, causing local residents to petition for the line's closure. The line officially closed down on September 1, 1991.

The Taichung County government saw potential for tourism along the route, so a paved bike path known as the Dongfeng Bicycle Greenway was constructed on November 15, 2000, making it the first railway line to be rebuilt in Taiwan. Tungshih and Shihgang stations were refurbished into visitor centers.

In 2010, Taichung Mayor Jason Hu proposed that the Taichung Metro Red line to be extended to Dongshi along the former route as part of his "Seven Line Plan".

Stations

During the line's operation, the stations used Tongyong pinyin.

Name	Chinese	Taiwanese	Hakka	Transfers and Notes	Location
Fengyuan	豐原			→ Taichung Line	Fengyuan	Taichung County
Pukou	朴口
Shihkang	石岡				Shigang
Meitsu	梅子
Tungshih	東勢				Dongshi