By KHT Staff
KAOHSIUNG — The city is set to add a new family recreation site this summer by converting a former freight workshop at the old Taiwan Railways Administration Kaohsiung locomotive works into a semi-indoor play park.
The project, now about 87 percent complete, is expected to be finished by the end of June, with trial operations likely during the summer vacation period. All facilities will be free to use.
The former Kaohsiung locomotive works, located near the junction of Fongshan (鳳山), Lingya (苓雅), and Cianjhen (前鎮), was once a major rail maintenance hub in southern Taiwan. The city has preserved and repurposed the entire 1.5-hectare freight workshop building, keeping its historic character while adding railway-themed design elements.
The new park will offer nearly 30 facilities for visitors of different ages, including a rope-climbing system, a bouldering wall, practice areas for balance bikes and inline skating, a pump track, an indoor soccer area, and a parkour zone.
Deputy Mayor Lin Chin-jung (林欽榮) said the park will also incorporate solar power and green-energy concepts. Half the site will have rooftop solar panels, while the outdoor section will use building-integrated solar materials to provide shade and serve as part of the site’s educational design.
The city said former workshop elements will also be reused as part of the park. A gantry crane will be turned into a climbing structure, rail textures will be adapted into a hand-powered cart feature, and old train cars will be repurposed as specialty shops and guided-tour spaces aimed at helping children learn about railway history.
To improve access, the park will include 229 car parking spaces and 75 motorcycle spaces. A new entrance is also planned near Kaisyuan Wuchang Station (凱旋武昌站) on the circular light rail, linking the site more directly to public transit.
The local Facebook group 高雄好過日 said the preserved train cars at the former locomotive works could complement the railway heritage assets near Hamasen Station (哈瑪星站) on the light rail, giving visitors more ways to explore Kaohsiung’s rail history. The group said it hoped the central government might eventually support a branch of the National Railway Museum in Kaohsiung, with exhibition areas at both Kaohsiung Port Station and the former Kaohsiung locomotive works.
