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Private company

Taiwan Railways Administration

Logo: Taiwan Railways Administration, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

Former railway operator in Taiwan

Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) was a governmental agency of the Republic of China in Taiwan which operated Taiwan Railway from 1948 to 2023. It managed, maintained, and operated conventional passenger and freight railway services on 1,097 km (682 mi) of track. Passenger traffic in 2018 was 231,267,955.2 It is headquartered in Taipei Main Station.1 It is part of Ministry of Transportation and Communications.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

Oct 25, 1945Founded1

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Entrance East 2, TRA Taipei Station 20220228
Photo: Solomon203, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons5

Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) was a governmental agency of the Republic of China in Taiwan which operated Taiwan Railway from 1948 to 2023. It managed, maintained, and operated conventional passenger and freight railway services on 1,097 km (682 mi) of track. Passenger traffic in 2018 was 231,267,955.2

Corporate structure

Taiwan Railways Administration sits at the top of its group. 1 entity, 1 country on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

  • Taiwan Railways Administration Taipei Main Station
    • Hengchun Line Owned · Hengchun Township, Taiwan
    • Hualien–Taitung line Owned · Taiwan
    • Liujia Line Owned · Hsinchu County, Taiwan
    • North-link line Owned · Taiwan
    • Pingtung line Owned · Taiwan
    • Shalun Line Owned · Tainan, Taiwan
    • South Link Owned · Taiwan
    • Taichung line Owned · Taiwan
    • Western lines Owned · Taiwan
    • Yilan line Owned · Taiwan

Built from subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0); major holders from Schedules 13D and 13G. Each entity in the chart links to its source.

What it owns

What Taiwan Railways Administration reports owning in its annual reports to the SEC: buildings, land and equipment, real estate and locations, investments, intangible assets and inventory, at the end of its latest fiscal year and a year before.

Stakes and holdings (Wikidata)

  • Hengchun Line
  • Hualien–Taitung line
  • Liujia Line
  • North-link line
  • Pingtung line
  • Shalun Line
  • South Link
  • Taichung line
  • Western lines
  • Yilan line

Things Wikidata records the company as owning, with the share when stated.1

The story

The railway between Keelung and Hsinchu was completed during the Qing era in 1893. In 1895, the Qing Empire ceded Formosa (Taiwan) to the Empire of Japan after the First Sino-Japanese War. The line was about 100 kilometres (62 mi) in length but in a poor condition when the Japanese arrived. The railway was rebuilt and expanded under the Railway Department of the Government-General of Taiwan during Japanese rule.

Following the surrender of Japan in the aftermath of World War II, TRA was founded as a government organisation that falls under transport office of Taiwan Provincial Government in 1948. In 1998, it was transferred to the Ministry of Transportation and Communication (MOTC) of the central government and employed around 13,500 people (4,700 in transportation and 7,700 in maintenance titles) and directly operated some 682 route miles of 3’6" (1,067 mm) gauge railways. Three mainlines form a complete circle around the island. TRA's West Coast line and Badu-Hualien section feature mostly double-track, electrification, modern colour light and cab signalling, overrun protection, and centralized traffic control (CTC). South-link line, east coast Taitung (converted from 762 mm gauge), and three "tourist" branches are non-electrified single-track with passing sidings.

Corporatization of TRA

Because of the several hundred-billions TWD of liabilities, and the legal person type of TRA is considered a block for elasticity operations of railway systems, there were several campaigns and groups set up that aim to take privatization and corporatization actions for TRA since 1990s. In May 2022 the Legislative Yuan approved the Act for Establishment of State-owned Taiwan Railway Co., Ltd. The legislation provided that TRA will transit to a state-owned railway company, set up a fund to handle debts of TRA, retain its employees, and consider raising salaries by 3~5%. TRA was incorporated as Taiwan Railway Corporation on 1 January 2024.

From Wikipedia’s article on Taiwan Railways Administration, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Leadership

Who has led Taiwan Railways Administration, and when. Pick a name to see everywhere that person has worked.

Chair

  1. Chen Shun-geng1961–1963
  2. Fan Rui1976–1980
  3. Dong Ping1980–1983
  4. Xu Dawen2003–2006
  5. Ho Nuan-xuan2006
  6. Chen Fengnan2006–2007
  7. Fan Chih-ku2007–2014
  8. Chou Yong-hui2014–2016
  9. Chang Chen-yuan2018–2021
  10. Chi Wen-jong2021
  11. Du Wei2021–2023
197019801990200020102020

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

  • Ministry of Transportation and Communications

Also owns

  • Hengchun Line
  • Hualien–Taitung line
  • Liujia Line
  • North-link line
  • Pingtung line
  • Shalun Line
  • South Link
  • Taichung line
  • Western lines
  • Yilan line

From Wikidata.1

Acquisitions

  1. Jan 1, 1968Acquired Linkou Line1
  2. Succeeded Railway Department of the Government-General of Taiwan1
  3. Succeeded by Taiwan Railway Corporation1

Timeline

  1. Dec 31, 2023Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. 1998Renamed Name changed to 交通部臺灣鐵路管理局1
  3. Jan 1, 1968Acquisition Acquired Linkou Line1
  4. Mar 5, 1948Renamed Name changed to 臺灣省政府交通處臺灣鐵路管理局1
  5. Oct 25, 1945Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

  1. 1
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  5. 5