“The Most Easily Forgotten Little Station” Yumei Station Bows Out of History as Railway Enthusiasts Rush to Capture Its Final Moments

▲ Yumei Station on the East Rift Valley Railway will be retired after midnight on the 27th as part of the railway electrification project. (Photo / Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)Photo link

Travel Center / Taipei Report

To accommodate railway electrification, Taiwan Railways decided to straighten the most sharply curved section of the Eastern Line in Taitung—the Taitung Yumei segment—resulting in the removal and closure of Yumei Station, dubbed “the most easily forgotten little station in Taiwan,” which officially ceased operations at midnight on the 27th.In recent days, many railway enthusiasts have traveled from across the country to document the historic moment.

Yumei Station in Guanxi Township, Taitung, was opened on May 10 of the 11th year of the Republic of China (1922). During the Japanese colonial period, it was originally named “Tsukino Station” (月野驛), later changed to Yuemei (月眉), but due to sharing the same name as Yuemei in Taichung, it was renamed Yumei Station, the name it retains to this day. Originally a third-class station with both a station master and an assistant station master, passenger volume gradually declined over time due to population outflow and the lack of scheduled express train stops.On September 30 of the 71st year of the Republic of China (1982), it was downgraded to an unstaffed flag stop, becoming “the most easily forgotten little station in Taiwan.”。

Between Guanshan and Luye stations on the TRA Eastern Line, there are five sharp curves, with the curve at Yumei Station being the sharpest, exceeding 90 degrees—forcing trains to maintain speeds of only 70 to 80 kilometers per hour. To accommodate the straightening of the rail line as part of the Eastern Line electrification project, Yumei Station ceased operations at midnight on the 27th and retired from history.

With the closure of Yumei Station, a flood of railway enthusiasts arrived to take photos, capturing its final moments. The station’s distinctive marble platform and baroque-style platform lamp posts have also become a thing of the past on the Eastern Line.Meanwhile, the railway’s graceful curve through rice paddies naturally forms a picturesque pastoral scene known among railway fans as the “Yumei Curve,” which has been a favorite subject for photography.As no trains will pass through here in the future, many railway enthusiasts rushed to take extra photos before the station’s closure to preserve memories.