Tamsui Line (TRA)

Tamsui Line (TRA)
Edmondson railway tickets used on the TRA Tamsui Line.
Overview
Type	Defunct branch line
Locale	Taipei and New Taipei
Termini	(Dadaocheng) Taipei Railway Station Tamsui
Stations	17 (in total) 11 (at time of closure)
Operation
Opened	August 25, 1901
Closed	July 15, 1988
Operator(s)	Taiwan Railway Administration
Technical
Line length	21.2 km (13.2 mi)
Track gauge	3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)

The Tamsui Line (Chinese: 淡水線; Hanyu Pinyin: Dànshuǐ xiàn; Tongyong Pinyin: Danshuei xian) was a Taiwanese railroad branch line, located in the cities of Taipei and New Taipei and operated by the Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA). It connected the city of Taipei with the town of Tamsui.

The Tamsui Line was opened on August 25, 1901, during Japanese rule, and had 17 stations, two of which (Dadaocheng, Beimen), located before Taipei Railway Station were closed to passenger traffic by 1916 and 1923 respectively (the former station, located on a branch, continued to be used by freight trains until 1937). 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 October 7, 1946 and closed on March 1, 1980. The Tamsui Line was finally closed on July 15, 1988 and was later demolished.