Alishan Forest Railway - from Alishan to Fenqihu Train Stations @ Chiayi in Taiwan

We came to the Alishan train station on a cold and misty morning, with a hope to secure train tickets to our next destination that was a mere 26 kilometers away, Fenqihu. Failing which we would have to pay a S$100 for private transport.

While we were informed that tickets were sold out, it was with deep gratefulness to the service staff that standing tickets were still available at NT$225 a person! Although there wasn't any guaranteed seats, I guess our legs could endure the almost one hour, 30 minutes journey.

Back at the train station after checking out from Dafeng Hotel (嘉義大峯山莊)! Weather continued to belong to a mystical world and even though Alex enjoyed Alishan; it was still with pity that we couldn't explore as much with the mist and the drizzle. 

Waiting in line 15 minutes before the official departure.

Which is front, and which is back?! Honestly, I really don't know but I do remember a friend mentioning that for mountain trains, the engines push from the back when going up the mountain. p.s. when the train came into the station, the 'front' was the first picture.

Train carriage with a 2+1 configuration. Since there were empty seats, we could sit on them although we would have to vacate should someone turn up with a valid seat number. Recommendation: sit on the right. 

Luggage compartment! Local Taiwanese usually treat Alishan as a day trip, to escape the heat and enjoy the scenery, and unlike kiasu Singaporeans, they were lightly packed. Hence, plenty of space for us. 

Start of our ride to Fenqihu Railway Town!

A familiar sight; Shenmu train station which I had the fortune of taking the railway train back the end of 2023, back to Alishan station. As you can see, the temperature was eight degrees celcius! 

What surprised me at Shenmu train station was that it's a connection hub and the train can travel in two directions! At Shenmu, the train drove in and then literally reversed to a separate track, given the angle! 

Arrival at Eryanping train station, which I remember had a popular hiking trail. According to Google Maps, there's also a Alishan Youth Activity Center where accommodation is available.

One great advantage to stay at Alishan Youth Activity Center.

The amazing view right ahead of the Eryanping train station! 

Many cypress trees along the route! Even though it was beautiful in the daytime, I bet it would be scary as hell at night. Oh well, it will be scary regardless of what trees. I guess I will stay in the city till the day I die, given my imagination.

Travelling head-first.

Shortly after, it reversed again, and that's very good news for someone susceptible to motion sickness! Thankfully, I wasn't badly affected and avoided the giddiness that would have make me extremely uncomfortable.

The slopes should the train derail. It's not exactly an impossible incident since Taiwan is very prone to earthquakes, and the last derailment for Alishan Forest Railway was in 2011 when five tourists died with 113 injured.

Train came to a stop at this area; a look at Google Maps revealed it was a switchback station known as first switch. And as the name suggested, the "head" was switched back and we were no longer on "reverse" drive! 

Legal logging I guess.

Lucrative since Cypress is expensive! 

Despite the constant jerkiness from the train, the one major benefit of taking the Alishan Forest Railway was the spectacular sights of hills, mountains and treacherous cliffs along the way, as it descended from a height of 2,216 meters at Alishan. p.s. reminder, sit on the right of the train. 

Should you be fortunate enough to take the train right from Chiayi to Alishan or vice versa, you would also bypass over 50 tunnels, and 77 wooden bridges! The tunnel above was 100 meters long. 

If your eyes are quick enough, you would also be able to catch the information on the panels dotted along the way, which would include the reference number, the length and also the altitude. 50 minutes had passed and we had already gravitated over 500 meters. 

56-kilometer mark from Chiayi train station.

Total track distance from Chiayi to Alishan is 71.6 kilometers.

Arrival to a crowd at Shizilu train station. The name actually means a crossroad and it's appropriate given its intersection with the Alishan Highway. According to the website, it's also the entrances of both Tabangu and Tfuya Tribes. 

Have we passed by six bridge already!? 

If my search was correct, I am guessing this would be Duolin train station, although the train didn't stop. Guess the Alishan Forest Railway was more for tourists. If you are local, you would likely drive, and not take the train. Furthermore, it's very hard to secure the tickets! 

This train trudged past us and the facade seemed different from the trains I encountered so far along the Alishan Forest Railway! I think it's the hinoki-themed train; said to be made of cypress wood! Back in 1925, such wooden carriages were only used by the Japanese imperial family! Sadly, the route was suspended from August this year.

In our journey up Alishan, we kept seeing huge clusters of what appeared to be impossible gigantic straws on mountains. Turned out they were just stands of bamboos!

Reached two minutes ahead of time at Fenqihu train station, in one piece; from a height of 2,216 meters to 1,403 meters and over a track distance of 26.08 kilometers!  

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Website of Alishan Forest Railway

https://afrch.forest.gov.tw/EN

Click HERE for 11 Days, 10 Nights Taiwan Trip: Summarised Itinerary for Chiayi Alishan (嘉义阿里山) - Kaohsiung (高雄) - Tainan (台南) - Taichung (臺中)