The sugar-refinery railroad and the Hualien-Taitung main line share a common origin. The refinery was established in 1913, during the Japanese occupation, and had its own railway for transporting cane.
日據時期大正二年（一九一三年）成立的東台製糖拓植會社（壽豐糖廠）自設鐵路運送甘蔗，最高峰時廠線長達一百公里。