Planning a daytrip during the weekend to Pingxi by taking the train via Ruifang. If possible I would like to go to Jiufen and/or Jinguahsi afterwards.
Is there any direct connection (backroad or something) so that I could take a taxi without going back down and then up that crowded main road to Jiufen, perhaps from on of the railway stations closer to Jiufen along the Pingxi line?
Yes. From Pingxi take a taxi to Shifen a little further east on 106. Then take the Pingshuang Access Road south to Shuangxi via Taiwan Province Route 2B and Taipei County Route 38. From Shuangxi you can take the Ruishuang Rd. (102) to Jinguashi and and Jiufen. I’d guess the fare would be around NT$700. This is a scenic drive although it is probably a bit further than backtracking via Ruifang would be.
Thanks Feiren, very helpful. 
Alternatively, is there a bus going from Taipei to Pingxi, say from Muzha? I saw in another thread that there were special busses for the lantern festival departing at the Zoo, but are there any regular services? In that case I would take a bus to Pingxi and go back via train, skipping Jiufen.
[quote=“Rascal”]Thanks Feiren, very helpful.
Alternatively, is there a bus going from Taipei to Pingxi, say from Muzha? I saw in another thread that there were special busses for the lantern festival departing at the Zoo, but are there any regular services? In that case I would take a bus to Pingxi and go back via train, skipping Jiufen.[/quote]
Yes, 15 or 16 go to Pingxi from Muzha. Exit Muzha MRT and cross main road. Catch bus on other side. They are infrequent though.
Taxi from Muzha to Pinxi is around NT450.
Thanks MM, I think I will do a roundtrip then, starting in Muzha by bus. Maybe I will take the train from Jingtong or Pingxi to Houdong (Houtung?), then jump on the normal train to Mudan and drive to Jiufen from the back (via the 102) by bus or taxi, whatever is available - and if time permits.
Well, I finally made it to Pingxi during the weekend with some friends. The weather wasn’t that great and we started with an hour delay or so but it was really enjoyable. I will include some details about prices and times, so if anyone is planning a day trip you can estimate how long it takes and how much you will roughly have to spend.
First we took the 12:00 o’clock train to Ruifang (40 minutes, NTD80) and then changed to the Pingxi line (13:08 departure). The full-fare ticket for the Pingxi line can be used for as many train rides as you like and only costs NTD54. Ruifang to Jingtong (last stop) takes about 40 minutes, too. The trains to/from Pingix run frequently, i.e. you can go earlier or later. To work out another schedule click here.
The first thing to notice on the train to Ruifang was a sign reading:
Exactly what I thought, but I am still not sure how those comments
at the bottom relate:
Anyway, we went off at Shifen station, taking a brief look around
town where the tracks run right through it:
Then we back-tracked (literally on the tracks in part) to the Shifen
Scenic area which is said to have a nice waterfall.
On the way is an old bridge. Well, at least it looks that way and we
were somewhat concerned that we actually drove over it.
Kids, please use the pedestrian bridge on the left only - if a train
comes you will not have enough time to get off the train’s bridge
unless you jump. And that’s going to hurt - though less than
getting hit by a train. 
Here is the famous Shifen waterfall, also called the Niagara falls of
Taiwan (no, I am not making this up). To get close you need to pay
admission to a park, which is rather steep at NTD180, included a
NTD20 discount voucher for the tea/coffee shops though (a small
cup costs a 100 before discount). However the scenery was worth it:
The park stretches along the left side of the river and fall, so you
can go closer to it and see it from above, too.
We then proceeded on foot to the Dahua station from where we
took the train to the end of the line in Jingtong, passing through
Shifen on the way. Here is the train arriving at Dahua:
A railway sign at Jingtong, which is the last stop of the Pingxi line
and has one of the last (or the last?) wooden railway station
building:
And the next contender for “Pimp my Ride” Taiwan edition:
We thought this sign was funny and wanted to have dinner there,
but it was closed so we never got to know if the food really ‘tastes
of coal’:
Since we were hungry and it started to drizzle we decided to jump
on the train and head for Pingix town. Not much too see and the
choice for food was limited but we found a place just down at the
railway station (take the stairs, turn right and you are there).
Of course we also flew a lantern, the big ones are actually cheap
at NTD100 only. Don’t forget to write your wish on it!
The last picture shows a small coffee shop with lanterns and railway
tracks as decoration, close to the bus stop from where we headed
back to Taipei. The bus #16 goes to Muzha where you can jump on
the MRT, fare was NTD45 I think. Bus #15 to Shulin via Taipei also
stops there but it’s less frequent.
The bus ride only took 45 minutes or so (via Shenkeng). Note that
the trains in the evening were about 10-15 minutes early, i.e. they
didn’t run on schedule. We missed one because of that and hence
decided to take the bus.
(Pictures were taken with my iPhone and resized.)
Actually, the Pingxi Falls are called the Nicaragua of Taiwan unless they have changed the brochures. The falls are nice when in full throat as they seem to be in your pic. But I prefer to stop at Santiaoling now and walk to the completely natural and free falls.
In Jingtong there is a restaurant set in an old Jap era house. Nice atmosphere and decent food.
Niagara
Ah, we missed that since we didn’t have a chance to stop there due to lack of time.
[quote=“Rascal”]Exactly what I thought, but I am still not sure how those comments
at the bottom relate:
Probably some Taiwanese equivalent to the Western propensity to place “And remember, kids: just say no to drugs!” in equally irrelevant places.
Niagara [/quote]
I don’t know what the English brochures say, but in Chinese it is indeed advertised as Nicaragua (尼加拉瓜), rather than Niagara (尼亞加拉)! 
I checked the English brochure, it says ‘Niagara’.
They changed it then. A few years ago it was Nicaragua.