The Tamsui Line was opened on 25 August 1901, during Japanese rule, and had 17 stations, two of which, located before Taipei Railway Station were closed to passenger traffic by 1916 and 1923 respectively. Changan and Jiantan Stations were shut down in 1950. In 1954 a temporary Fuxinggang Station was built for the 9th annual Taiwan Province Games, which closed after the games ended. A spur track known as the Asia Branch Line located before Tamsui Station provided access to the British Merchant Warehouse operated by Royal Dutch Shell, which was closed in 1971 and the surviving track was heritage-listed along with the British Merchant Warehouse in 2000. In addition, Tatung Company had a station located between Shuanglian and Yuanshan Stations, which was originally built during World War II, finally opened on 7 October 1946 and closed on 1 March 1980. The Tamsui Line was finally closed on 15 July 1988 and was later demolished. The Taipei Metro Tamsui Line currently operates along a route similar to that of the one occupied by the TRA Tamsui Line during its existence.
Infrastructure
The Tamsui line was a single track line with passing sidings at most stations. Sidings range from just over 1 mile apart to the maximum distance between Zhuwei and Tamsui which was a 2.6-mile segment. Because of the limited capacity, the maximum operable headway was every half-hour.
Route Characteristics
Operating jurisdiction: Taiwan Railway Administration Route distance: 21.2 km between Taipei and Tamsui Gauge: 1,067 mm Number of stations: 11 Opened: 25 August 1901 opened entire line Abolition Time: 15 July 1988 was the last day of operations; line was formally abandoned the following day, on July 16 Taiwan's first railway branch line to be connected to the trunk line network Taiwan's first railway branch line to be converted to a mass rapid transit line
Vehicle Assignment
The regular train was hauled by R0 or R20 class diesel-electric locomotive, typically with four ordinary non-air-conditioned coaches. After the project to convert East Coast Main Line to 1,067 mm gauge, the displaced diesel-hydraulic locomotive DH200 class was converted for a period of service on the Tamsui line. The last train was hauled by R20-class locomotive R53, with extra passenger cars attached.