It managed, maintained, and operated conventional passenger and freight railway services on 1,097 km (682 mi) of track.

[8] TRA's West Coast line and Badu-Hualien section feature mostly double-track, electrification, modern colour light and cab signalling, overrun protection, and centralized traffic control (CTC).

[9] South-link line, east coast Taitung (converted from 762 mm gauge), and three “tourist” branches are non-electrified single-track with passing sidings.

Because of the several hundred-billions TWD of liabilities, and the legal person type of TRA is considered a block for elasticity operations of railway systems, there were several campaigns and groups set up that aim to take privatization and corporatization actions for TRA since 1990s.

In May 2022 the Legislative Yuan approved the Act for Establishment of State-owned Taiwan Railway Co., Ltd.