The Japanese established a fairly comprehensive railway system for Taiwan. Unfortunately, it was extensively damaged in bombing raids by the Allied Forces towards the end of World War Ⅱ. Bridges were down and culverts were blocked. Tracks were in many places destroyed, or in some cases, dismantled and shipped to Japan for military use.
日本人雖為台灣鐵路奠定了完整的規模，但是二次世界大戰末期，台鐵在盟軍猛烈轟炸下，各種設備都慘遭嚴重破壞：橋樑傾圯，涵洞堵塞，鐵軌更是受創累累，許多支線鐵軌甚至被拆起，轉供日本軍需之用。