Alishan Forest Railway is an 77.65 km network in narrow gauge railways (762 mm) running up to and throughout the popular mountain resort of Alishan in Chiayi County, Taiwan (part of the railway is located in Nantou County, Taiwan).
The Alishan Forest Railway climbs from Chiayi Station (嘉義站) at an altitude of 30 meters to Zhushan Station (祝山站) at 2,451 meters, and the total climbing height of the railway system is 2,420 meters. In order to cope with the difference in altitude, the system has spiral loop railway, zig zag railway (Z-shaped switchbacks), uses a lot of tunnels and bridges.
Because the system is a mountain-climbing railway, there are steep slopes along the way, so when the train is running, the locomotive (including diesel locomotive and steam locomotive) faces direction of the downhill, and the carriage faces direction of the uphill. This mode of operation will enable the train to climb more favorably, it can also avoid the breakage caused by overload of the connector when going up the mountain, and the weakening of braking ability when going down the mountain. The locomotive pushes train up the hill at the back of carriages, train driver will be in the front carriage and using remote to control the locomotive behind.
The Zhaoping Station (沼平站) was rebuilt from the old Alishan Station (舊阿里山站). Since the Fourth Switch (第四分道) of this climbing railway system built a new station, so the old Alishan Station has been rebuilt, and this rebuilt station named Zhaoping Station. The current Zhaoping Station is also a new station after reconstruction.
Because Fourth Switch is the closest to the gate of Alishan National Forest Recreation Area, it is suitable to build a new station for passengers, and this new station is the current Alishan Station (新阿里山站).
The Zhaoping Station is not only a station of the Zhaoping Line (沼平線), but also from this station to the Zhushan Line (祝山線), Mianyue Line (眠月線) and Shuishan Line (水山線). However, due to natural disasters and other factors, only Zhaoping Line and Zhushan Line are still operating, but the Mianyue Line and Shuishan Line are suspended now.
The "Hinoki Train" is manufactured by the Taiwan Rolling Stock Company (TRSC) commissioned by the Forestry Bureau, it's cypress wooden carriages. The appearance design of this kind of carriage refers to the VIP car dedicated to the "Imperial House of Japan" on Taiwan Railway in the past. The cypress wooden carriages has outdoor porch, this design makes it full of retro style and make passengers feel as if they have returned to 100 years ago!!
The section between Shizilu (十字路) and Erwanping (二萬平) will be completed this year, it including Pingzhena Station (屏遮那站), First Switch (第一分道) and Second Switch (第二分道), so the next year, this railway system will be able to operate directly from Chiayi to Alishan, and passengers can connect Shenmu Line (神木線), Zhaoping Line (沼平線) and Zhushan Line (祝山線) in Alishan National Forest Recreation Area.
Thanks to my wife for providing videos and pictures!!
0:00 Start
0:58 Hinoki Train arrives at Zhaoping Station (Zhaoping Line uphill). The train is cypress wooden carriages by DL-39 diesel locomotive.
2:22 Hinoki Train departures from Zhaoping Station (Zhaoping Line downhill). The train is cypress wooden carriages by DL-39 diesel locomotive.
4:10 Hinoki Train Zhaoping Station to Alishan Station (Zhaoping Line downhill).The train is cypress wooden carriages by DL-39 diesel locomotive.
9:15 Hinoki Train arrives at Alishan Station (Zhaoping Line downhill). The train is cypress wooden carriages by DL-39 diesel locomotive.
