Taitung line

The north segment from Karenkō (花蓮港, now Hualien City) to Poshiko (璞石閣 ポシコ, then Tamazato, now Yuli) was built in 1909 and completed in 1917. The south segment form Hinan (卑南, then Taitō, now Taitung City) to Rirō (里巄, now Guanshan) was opened in 1919 by the Taitō Development Company (臺東開拓株式會社).

In 1922, the Taitō Development Company bought the railroad from Karenkō to Tamazato and called it the "Taitō North Line", while the south segment of Taitō to Rirō was called the "Taitō South Line."

The connecting railway between Tamazato to Rirō was begun in 1921 and completed in 1926, after which the total length was 171.8 km from Karenkō (Hualien City) to Taitō (Taitung City).

In 1966, the Kuang-Hua Express (光華號), utilizing diesel multiple units, started service in this line and greatly shortened the traveling time from Hualien to Taitung from 6–7 hours to 3–4 hours.

Its gauge was changed from 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge to 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge in 1982 and connected with North-link line, after which the old Hualien Station was discarded and replaced by the Hualien railway station that is used now.

In 2007, the Environmental Protection Administration gave the line a conditional pass for an electrification project, which will boost the operating speed from 110 km/hr to 130 km/hr.[4] In 2009, construction began on electrification work, with NT$15.5 billion set aside for the project.[5] Electrification work was completed in late 2013 with the inauguration of electric services in late June 2014.

The section between Nanping and Wanrong railway stations will be upgraded from a single-track railway to a dual-track railway and is expected to be completed by December 2020. With the existing double-track sections from Shoufeng to Nanping railway station and from Wanrong to Guangfu railway stations, more train services will shorten waiting times and increase transportation efficiency.

On October 12 2020, the Ministry of Transport has approved and intends to carry out upgrading works on the Taitung Line to ensure that the entire line is double-tracked. As 69% of the entire line is still currently single-tracked, the project will shorten waiting times by at most up to 90 minutes and up to 16 more train services can be operated each day and commuting time can be reduced up to 50 minutes. With an increase of 17,000 passengers per day, the dual-track railway project is expected to cost NT$25.429 billion, which will be completed 7 years after the environmental impact assessment and comprehensive planning are approved.

The Railway Bureau has stated that the project will be carried out in 2 separate phases. Phase 1 will include the sections north of Yuli (Hualien - Shoufeng, Guangfu - Ruisui and Sanmin - Yuli) and the section between Taitung and Zhiben and is expected to be completed by 2026. Phase 2 will include the remaining sections of the line and is expected to be completed by 2027.

Together with the electrification of the Hualien-Taitung Line, the following stations were upgraded.

• General Reconstruction
  • Completed - Zhixue, Pinghe, Fengtian, Nanping, Fenglin, Wanrong, Guangfu, Dafu, Fuyuan, Ruisui, Sanmin, Yuli, Dongli, Dongzhu, Fuli, Chishang, Haiduan, Guanshan, Ruihe, Ruiyuan, Luye, Shanli, Taitung
• Elevated Station
  • Under Construction - Hualien
  • Under Planning - Ji’an
  • Completed - Shoufeng
• Underground Station
  • Completed - Linrong Shin Kong