Taipei: The National Railway Museum is set to partially open to the public on July 31, following nine years of meticulous restoration work at the historic site formerly known as the Taipei Railway Workshop. This reopening will offer visitors a glimpse into an important era of Taiwan's railway history.
According to Focus Taiwan, the Ministry of Culture (MOC) announced that the public will gain access to several key areas of the museum, including a diesel workshop, a technician training institute, a materials testing institute, an assembly hall, a bathhouse, and a unique children's area featuring trains built with toy blocks. Additionally, a 335-meter passageway that cuts through the complex in Taipei's Songshan District will be open for use, serving as a pedestrian link between Civic Boulevard and Keelung Road.
This development is expected to enhance pedestrian access and neighborhood connectivity while providing visitors with an up-close view of the site's historic architecture and the skyline of industrial rooftops. The museum will host three permanent and three special exhibitions, covering a range of topics such as locomotives, the diesel factory, the bathhouse, Taiwan's railway history and culture, and the life of the late railway photographer Ku Jen-jung.
The MOC detailed that the Taipei Railway Workshop was originally relocated from the Beimen area to its current site, completed in 1935. For decades, it functioned as Taiwan's central hub for train maintenance, assembly, and repair. After the workshop's relocation to the Fugang Vehicle Depot in 2012, public advocacy led to the declaration of the 17-hectare site as a national historic site in 2015.
By December 2016, the Cabinet had approved the transformation of the workshop into a museum, with restoration efforts commencing in 2019 and a museum preparatory office being established. The project has adopted a phased approach, involving full-area preparation, sectional restoration, and phased public openings.
The National Railway Museum will welcome visitors every Tuesday through Sunday, from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., as stated by the MOC.