Talk of trains is sure to reawaken many long-buried memories. For isn't it true that-to quote poet Yu Kuang-chung-"Memories are as long as the tracks"?

Riding in trains as children, how excited we always were to be going to some faraway place. As students taking the train to and from school, those first awakenings of love often blossomed in the swaying carriages. Once fully grown, we travelled full of hopes and dreams into the city and the world of work, and later rode with spouse and children on visits to our families back home. Over the years, the railway stations have borne silent witness to so many people's comings and goings, meetings and partings.

Taiwan's railways have a glorious past behind them. The first rail was laid in 1887 at Tataocheng (now part of Taipei City's Tatung District), by the Qing-dynasty Taiwan Provincial Governor Liu Mingchuan. Under Japanese rule, the tracks were gradually extended all around the island, reaching up the mountains and across the plains. As well as shouldering the heavy task of hauling coal, sugar cane, salt and timber, the trains also ran through the towns and cities, to become a major means of public transport.

But as the road network's tentacles spread throughout Taiwan and aeroplanes conquered the skies, the trains' whistles were gradually muted, and they no longer held pride of place in the world of transport. In a modern society which demands speed, the railway is indeed rarely people's first choice. But from the perspective of nostalgia and tourism, if the scenery along the route is the object of the journey, rail travel has great potential.

Over the last few years, tourism by train has gradually grown in popularity. Like the Mt. Ali forestry railway, several other branch lines which had faced closure, such as the Pinghsi, Neiwan and Chichi lines, have been reprieved and are now very popular with weekend day-trippers.

As for the main lines which run along the eastern and western sides of Taiwan, perhaps few people take note of the fact that apart from being a means to rush from A to B, they too pass through some fine countryside. They also carry with them many stories of Taiwan's development which can arouse people's deep feelings for times past.

For this month's issue we have chosen the Ilan Line, the western Mountain Line and the East Link Railway from Hualien to Taitung for an in-depth travel feature. As well as passing through enchanting scenery, these three lines each have their own special character, and there are many places of cultural interest along the way. For friends snatching a few days off from their busy schedule, for emigrants returning to rediscover old haunts, or for foreign visitors coming for a taste of Taiwan's landscape and people, they offer a leisurely way to enjoy our island's beauty.

However, just as people's nostalgia for the past is growing, our railway heritage is disappearing at breakneck speed. Many old stations have been given a new look, aging carriages have been replaced or broken up, and many branch lines have been closed down for lack of traffic. Though a railway museum has been planned for years, it is still uncertain where it will stand. Will the pursuit of "modernization" destroy one of the assets of our tourist industry?

A year ago, a group of young railway enthusiasts in Taiwan set up the Railway Cultural Society. Not content to see these reminders of the past being swept away, they have been calling energetically for the rail operators to preserve railway culture. Why do they have such a passion for trains? And how do they plan to save our disappearing railway heritage?

A century ago, the railways were the midwives of Taiwan's modernization. Today, can people value the railways which were once the main arteries of economic life, and treasure the old trains which symbolize the various stages of Taiwan's development? And will they lend their support to help the railway museum finally come into being?