Australia's Zig Zag Railway joins Alishan as forest railway's 10th partner

Taipei, Dec. 9 (CNA) Australia's heritage Zig Zag Railway on Tuesday entered into a sister railway alliance with Taiwan's Alishan Forest Railway, becoming the latter's 10th such international partner.

A ceremony was held at Alishan Forest Railway's Beimen Station in Chiayi City on Tuesday to mark the agreement.

Chiayi Mayor Huang Min-hui (黃敏惠), Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶), as well as Australia's Zig Zag Railway CEO Daniel Zolfel sealed the partnership by symbolically driving rail spikes into a section of track.

"It's very exciting to be here in Taiwan to celebrate a new chapter for two heritage railways that share not only the sound of steam engines, but a passion for history, craft, resilience and connection," Zolfel said during his speech at the ceremony.

Zolfel called the cooperation between the two railways a partnership built on "people, passion and shared purpose," such as loco-technical exchanges.

"The collaboration is about sharing knowledge, celebrating history, celebrating heritage and creating memorable experiences," he added.

According to Lin in his speech, members from the two railways began interacting in 2023 by bonding over their mutual use of switchbacks to scale the respective terrains they operate on.

Lin also added that both operators' use of steam engine trains was a key factor that bridged them, highlighting the Australian operator's expertise in steam locomotive maintenance as a key component that could help the Taiwanese company.

Lin added that Zolfel personally inspected the Taiwanese heritage railway's famous SL-21 steam locomotive that currently runs only on flat terrain.

Zolfel additionally offered the Australian team's assistance in boosting the efficiency of the Taiwanese steam engine train and getting the SL-21 back to scaling Alishan next year.