Bridges and culverts were rebuilt and repaired, rotting ties replaced, and new tracks installed. New locomotives were also added, and maintenance and repair practices upgraded. Bit by bit of untiring efforts permitted Taiwan's troubled railways to miraculously survive, and become Taiwan's major mode of transportation of the time.
從修補傾圯橋樑、抽換腐朽枕木及損毀鋼軌，修護橋涵路基開始，再逐年添購新的機車，加強保養和修護的種種設備措施… … 就在這樣一點一滴的努力中，台鐵奇蹟般地「活」了下來，而且擔負起台灣早期最主要的陸路交通工具的重任。