Hung Chih-wen, the writer of The Legend of the Taiwan Railroads, believes that the topography along the Pinghsi line was the most hazardous of any of Taiwan's branch lines.
《台灣鐵道傳奇》的作者洪致文認為，平溪線鐵路的地勢險峻，是台鐵所有支線的第一名。