The South-Link Line is Taiwan’s southernmost railway, a 98.2-kilometer route linking Fangliao on the west coast with Taitung on the east. It traces a wide U around the southern tip of the island: first running south down the Taiwan Strait to the Hengchun Peninsula, then cutting through the southern end of the Central Mountain Range, and finally curving north up the Pacific coast to Taitung. With mountains on one side and sea on the other — coastal vistas and secluded mountain hideaways all along the route — it is widely regarded as the most beautiful stretch of railway in Taiwan.
1. The South-Link Line at a glance
For a visitor, the line’s biggest draw is the way mountains and ocean meet. The western section hugs the Taiwan Strait, with trains running almost right along the shore. The middle section plunges into the Central Mountain Range through 35 tunnels totaling nearly 40 kilometers — the tunnels are a defining feature of the line in their own right. The eastern section then runs north along the Pacific, sea and sky merging into one. Scattered along the whole route are small, near-empty stations that feel like hidden corners of the world.
2. How to ride the South-Link Line
Ride the “Breezy Blue” tourist train
The classic way to experience the South-Link Line is aboard the nostalgic old blue train. This train, which has no air conditioning — the kind where you simply open a window and feel the sea breeze — was retired from regular service and later refurbished as a sightseeing train called “Breezy Blue” (its official Taiwan Railway English name). It departs Fangliao once a day and rolls slowly along the most beautiful part of the coast. It requires a separate ticket, and it’s the top pick for travelers who want to take the scenery in at an unhurried pace.
Getting there and planning your trip
Taiwan’s round-the-island rail network is fully electrified, so you can take a reserved-seat express (Tze-Chiang or Puyuma) straight from Taipei to Fangliao in about four and a half hours, or ride the High Speed Rail south and transfer to a Taiwan Railway train. Riding straight through from Fangliao to Taitung takes only about two hours, and some travelers fold the South-Link Line into a full loop around the island. It’s worth booking reserved-seat trains in advance: Taiwan Railway has an official English booking website and a “Taiwan Railway e-booking” app, both of which let overseas visitors reserve seats in English. To stop at the tiny stations along the way, look for the local trains — only two a day call at every stop. A scooter is the easiest way to reach the photo spots in the western mountains, while a rental car works best around Taitung in the east. Note that many of the smaller stations are remote, with no shops or facilities, so having your own wheels makes the trip far easier.
3. The highlight stations
Duoliang Station: “Taiwan’s most beautiful station”
The most famous sight on the whole line is Duoliang Station, which shot to fame after it was decommissioned and earned the nickname “Taiwan’s most beautiful station.” It’s a seaside platform in the middle of nowhere, perched above the shore and facing straight out over the Pacific. It closed because too few passengers used it, yet today it’s the most popular tourist attraction on the South-Link Line — when you’re driving the empty coastal highway and suddenly see cars lining the roadside and crowds of people, that’s almost certainly Duoliang.
Taimali and the “Sakuragi” crossing: sunrise town and a Slam Dunk scene
Taimali is known as the “town of the rising sun.” The best view here isn’t the station building itself but “Sunrise Avenue,” the road running dead straight from the station out to the sea. Nearby is a railway crossing whose ocean backdrop and framing look strikingly like the Enoden crossing near Kamakura, Japan — the one from the opening of the anime Slam Dunk, where Sakuragi and Haruko meet. It’s earned the title “Taiwan’s most beautiful level crossing,” and it’s a photo spot that anime fans will instantly recognize.
Fangshan Station: the southern tip
Fangshan is currently the southernmost railway station in Taiwan. It sits halfway up a hillside, far from any town, but with sweeping views of the mountains and the sea; this is where the South-Link Line turns inland into the Central Mountain Range. Hidden in the hills nearby are a few railway photography spots (such as “Fangshan Bay”) that are well known among rail fans, but they lie on hard-to-find farm roads. You’ll need to do your homework first, and most people can only reach them by scooter or on foot.
Jinlun Station: a hot-spring village under an elevated highway
Jinlun is a lively Indigenous village and one of Taitung’s best-known hot-spring areas. The rebuilt Jinlun Station is strikingly beautiful, but the standout view is the elevated section of Provincial Highway 9 crossing directly over the station, creating a dramatic skyline. If you’d like to soak in a hot spring partway along the South-Link Line, Jinlun makes a great stop.
Taitung Station: the terminus and Tiehua Village
Taitung Station is the end of the South-Link Line and the eastern gateway toward Hualien and Taipei. The station itself is grand, but it sits some distance from the city and is surrounded by open, empty land. The real buzz is in town at “Tiehua Village” — which is actually the site of the old Taitung Station. After the old station closed in 2001, the grounds were transformed, and today it comes alive at night as a market and live-music hub popular with young people. It’s a great place to experience Taitung after dark.
4. For the curious: the hidden mountain signal stations
If you’re curious about the “hardest stations to reach,” the mountain section of the South-Link Line hides three legendary signal stations — Fangye, Zhongyang, and Pu’an. No road reaches them and ordinary trains don’t stop; they’re a pilgrimage site for Taiwan’s rail enthusiasts. Getting there means driving off-road along a riverbed or remote farm tracks, with not a soul in sight, all while watching for trains roaring past and for venomous snakes, wasps, and other insects in the hills. This isn’t a trip the average traveler would plan — but the very fact that these stations exist is a big part of what makes the South-Link Line so quietly magnetic.
5. Final thoughts
For me, the South-Link Line is like a jigsaw puzzle that can never quite be finished. You can ride the Breezy Blue and feel the sea breeze as the train drifts slowly along, or drive from stop to stop and take in the popular sights like Duoliang Station and the Sakuragi crossing. What begins as a chance visit to a single small station grows into a deliberate pilgrimage down the line — and along the way you keep discovering new corners between mountain and sea you want to explore. Even right after a trip ends, fresh inspiration has me itching to set out again. That, perhaps, is what makes the South-Link Line so captivating.
