Taiwan Sugar Railways
A Sugar Railway DIEMA diesel locomotive on the Magongcuo Line | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Main region(s) | Taiwan |
| Parent company | Taiwan Sugar Corporation |
| Dates of operation | 1907–present |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) |
| Taiwan Sugar Railways | |||||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 臺灣糖業鐵路 | ||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 台湾糖业铁路 | ||||||||||||||
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The Taiwan Sugar Railways is a 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) industrial railway operated by the Taiwan Sugar Corporation. The railway was primarily used in the production of sugar by transporting sugarcane to mills, but 41 lines also provided passenger service.
After the Second World War the network reached its peak of 3,000 km (1,900 mi), of which 675 km (419 mi) were for passengers.
From 1950 approximately 275 km (171 mi) were added: "The North-South Parallel Preparatory Line". This connected all sugar factories. However, this was quickly shortened after a natural disaster, and increasingly after each disaster. The last part closed in 1998. The only line still used to carry sugarcane today is the Magongcuo Line in Huwei, Yunlin, though five other lines are partly preserved as heritage railways.