During the middle period of the occupation, the railway, originally dedicated to lumber transport, was opened to passengers after pressure from residents along the line. In the 1970s, with tourism to Taipingshan on the rise, an express train was commissioned and was virtually always full of passengers.
日據時代中期應沿線居民需求，原本只有載運木材的鐵道，開辦載客運輸；民國六十年代，因應太平山旅遊熱潮加開對號快車，幾乎班班客滿。