Ping Si Railway Branch

位於台北縣東南山城的平溪鐵路支線，是目前台灣三條小火車支線中，長度最短但歷史最為悠久的一條，也是最具觀光價值的一條鐵路支線。

The Ping Si railway branch is located in the Southeast Mountain of Taipei County. It is the shortest and oldest branch among the three small railway branch lines in Taiwan. This railway branch is also one of the most attractive tourist destinations.

全長12.9公里的平溪支線，原為臺陽礦業公司為了運送煤礦而出資興建的鐵路，後來為方便當地民眾往來交通，於是兼辦客運。國民政府來台後，變轉由台鐵接管，這條鐵路才正式成為一條專門的客運支線。

The 12.9 kilometers length Ping Si branch was originally built by Taiyang coal mining company to transport the coal. However, due to the transportation demand, it started to transport local residents. After the Nationalist government settled in Taiwan, the railway was taken over by the Taiwan Railway Administration. Ping Si railway officially became the passenger line.

平溪線沿著美麗的基隆河谷修築而成，沿途可欣賞到豐富多變的地質自然景觀。起站從三貂嶺開始，沿線經過大華、十分、望古、嶺腳、平溪及菁桐等車站，沿線的各個小鎮保存了許多舊時礦業遺跡，並依舊維持著昔日的古樸風貌。

Ping Si line was built along the beautiful Keelung River Valley that has a rich and varied geological landscape. This line started from San Diao Ling along through Dai Hua, Shi Fen, Wang Gu, Ling Jiao, Ping Si and Ching Tong train station. All the small towns the train goes by still have the old mining trace and maintain a simple and unadorned look.

小火車每日來回穿梭，是當地居民主要交通工具，但煤礦產業沒落後，人口大量外移，火車乘坐需求日益縮減，讓平溪支線一度沈寂沒落。近年來懷舊風的興起促進了觀光產業，才又讓這條昔日的運煤之路，再次成了眾人的焦點。現在的平溪支線不僅是旅遊勝地，還是熱門的婚紗攝影之地呢！

This small train came everyday was the main transportation for the local residents. However, due to the mining industry’s downfall and out flux of local population, the demand of this train was declined, and Ping Si railway branch was no longer needed. Now, people started to remember the past, which has motivated the tourism industry. This historical mining railway has become a focus again. Ping Si branch has become not only a tourist attraction place, but also a popular spot for wedding photography.

搭乘平溪支線時，如果留意的話，會注意到每當火車即將進站時，就可以看到值班站長拿著一個掛有銅牌的大圓圈站在月台等待著。

When you take Ping Si branch railroad, if you pay attention, you can see the station master who holds a big circle ring hanging a bronze medal is waiting on the platform for the train to arrive.

火車一停妥，司機員與值班站長便會交換手中的銅牌，這個銅牌其實叫做「路牌」，它是火車能不能順利通行的重要關鍵。

When the train stops, the driver and station master will exchange the bronze medal. In fact, this medal was named “Tablet”, which provides permission for the train to go through.

原來，這是日據時代遺留下來的火車運行制度，利用路牌來做為列車安全通行的憑證。

This train operation system was made during the Japanese Occupation Era. The “Tablet” was the safe signal for the train.

路牌是放在「電氣路牌閉塞器」中，想要取出路牌，必須得靠兩站的站長通力合作才行。當列車準備行駛至下一站時，該站的站長就會操作閉塞器，向下一站提出通行需求，經確認該區間沒有其他車輛行駛後，對方會回電氣訊號回傳，這時候才能從閉塞器中順利取出路牌。

The “Tablet” is placed in the "Electrical Tablet Blocking Device". It needs two station masters to work together to remove the “Tablet”. Before the train comes to the next stop, the station master will operate the device to request the pass from the next station. Once the next train station confirms back to him with an electrical signal that there are no vehicles on the way to the next stop, then the “Tablet” can be removed from the device.

我在十分車站的站長室內，親眼看過站長操作這個從日據時代遺留下來，至今仍在使用中的古董鐵道設備，可惜不便拍照，所以沒能用照片紀錄操作過程！

I personally witness the station master in Shi Fen train station operating this antique railway equipment that was left from Japanese Era and is still functional. Photograph taking was not allowed, so I did not record the process with the photos.

Photo by Archer[水瓶子的城市旅行]

Photo by Archer[水瓶子的城市旅行]

平溪可以走訪的景點很多，之後將分篇一一介紹給大家～

There are so many attractions that can be visited in Ping Si. I will be sharing more in a later post~ Read More