Alishan Station is the terminus of the Alishan Forest Railway and also serves as the starting point for the Zhushan Line, Zhaoping Line, and Sacred Tree Line—branches of the Alishan Railway. Originally, Alishan Station was the fourth division of the Alishan Forest Railway. In the 1970s, due to a significant increase in tourism and the limited space in the Zhaoping area, a new station construction project was launched in August 1977 to expand the Alishan Forest Recreation Area. The new station was officially completed and opened on January 11, 1981. To distinguish it from the still-operating old Zhaoping Station, the newly built station was named "New Alishan Station."
However, the September 21, 1999 earthquake damaged the structure of the new station, rendering it a hazardous building and forcing its closure. The railway’s terminus was temporarily moved back to Zhaoping Station. In 2003, to alleviate the operational pressure on Zhaoping Station, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency established a temporary station beside the Alishan train depot and began reconstruction of the new station at the original site. Finally, the newly rebuilt Alishan Station was completed and reopened to the public in September 2007.
