Typhoon-damaged Alishan Forest Railway to resume services Aug. 31

Taipei, Aug. 23 (CNA) The Alishan Forest Railway is set to resume mainline services on Aug. 31, following disruption caused by Typhoon Gaemi in late July, according to its operator.

The service resumption on the century-old tourism rail line between Chiayi City and Alishan in Chiayi County was announced by the Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office in a statement released Friday.

The office suspended mainline and branch-line services on July 23 as a precautionary measure due to the approaching Typhoon Gaemi, which made landfall in northeastern Taiwan around midnight the following day.

Services on the branch lines on Alishan in the mountainous area in Chiayi County were brought back on July 29. However, services on the mainline were disrupted by fallen trees, bamboo and rocks at 116 locations, the office said.

The railway itself sustained no significant damage, the office added.

Works to restore the services are expected to be completed on Aug. 28, followed by two days of test runs, before the services resume on Aug. 31, according to the statement.

Opened in 1912 for the logging business, the Alishan Forest Railway was only fully reopened on July 6, after 15 years of work repairing damage during Typhoon Morakot in 2009 and the 2015 typhoon season.

Booking for the resumed mainline services will be opened online through the office's website at 6 a.m. on Aug. 26.