Have you ever heard of the Death Railway? AKA the Burma Railway, this line was built by Prisoners of War of WWII and still runs through parts of Thailand. It’s a fascinating part of Thai culture and world history, and has even influenced film and literature. Here are 7 highlights along the track you can’t miss.
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I wipe sweat from my eyes as we stare at what’s in front of us. Although we’ve been on the road for two days to get here, it’s still so striking I’m struggling to collect my thoughts.
And although we’ve just got out of the van’s air conditioning, my clothes are stuck to me and my water bottle needs another refill.
Thailand in April has a reputation.
We’re looking out at a fairly simple steel bridge about 130m long with a single gauge train track running along it. Beneath it is a fast-running but otherwise unremarkable river.
The bridge has no name in spite of its infamy. Instead, it’s the river below that takes the title.
Thais call it Kwae Yai. We know it as the River Kwai.
Bridge Over The River Kwai And The Burma Railway
Running from Ban Pong near Bangkok 415km northwest to Thanbyuzayat in Myanmar, the aptly named Death Railway was a major project of the Japanese Imperial Army (JIA) in the later stages of World War II.
Planning to create supply routes between Thailand and the west coast of Burma (now Myanmar), the JIA built a train line through mountains and jungles, and over rivers.
They used Allied prisoners of war, captured in Singapore and Indonesia, and conscripted civilians from different parts of Asia as an enslaved labour force.
Between May 1942 and August 1943, 60,000 PoWs and 200,000+ civilians from around Asia worked on the line. More than 13,000 soldiers and up 80,000 Asian labourers lost their lives here. On average, 20 men died a day in those 15 savage months.
Much of the Death Railway has gone now, but a 120km stretch of track still operates, and what remains is heavy with history.
Here are 7 points along the Burma Railway that are well worth visiting to learn about this incredible epoch that had far-reaching impacts in Thailand and the world at large.
1. Thonburi Rail Station, Bangkok – where the Burma Railway began
Historically, Thonburi Station is the start of the Burma Railway that went from Bangkok all the way up to Thanbyuzayat in Myanmar some 415km north. The station was bombed by the Allies in WWII and rebuilt in the 1950s.
You can catch a train from this station, which is still considered the 0km mark for Bangkok train systems, and it’ll take you all the way to Kanchanaburi and the Death Railway proper.
2. Ban Pong — historic Burma Railway begins
About 70km west of Bangkok’s Thonburi Station, Ban Pong is the first stop on the Namtok Line, the track on the original supply line of the Burma Railway.
Although we didn’t join the train trip here, we did stop for lunch. Highly recommended is the Rain Tree Cafe 10 minutes up the road from the station on the banks of the Mae Klong River.
One thing I really wasn’t expecting to find (or like for that matter) was a local specialty ‘coffee orange’. Half fresh orange juice and half cold brew coffee, this drink sounds pretty awful, but it’s surprisingly tasty and even better on a hot day.
I’ll be keeping this idea in my pocket for the heat of the Sydney summer for sure.
3. Bridge over the River Kwai
The Mae Klong River winds through southern Kanchanaburi to join the famous River Kwai and its bridge, and then on to the sea.
You get a solemn thrill seeing the bridge for the first time. The curved arches on either bank are the originals from WWII, but the middle square sections are replacements from where Allied forces blew it up in 1945.
You can walk across the bridge along the train tracks, which is quite a strange sensation. Especially as trains do still run along here.
It’s hard to imagine, with all the hotels, restaurants, shops and market stalls lining the river, that this was once a place of torment, struggle and death.
4. Kanchanaburi War Cemetery and Museum
A little way downstream from the bridge is Don Rak, the biggest Allied war cemetery in Thailand.
Here, 6,858 war graves mark the final resting place of Australian, New Zealand, British and Dutch soldiers lost in the construction of the Burma-Siam Railway.
The cemetery is beautifully maintained. Headstones are clean and polished, and the grass and pretty shrubs are in good order.
Down the road is the Thailand-Burma Railway Centre, an excellent museum that shows what the conditions were like, the purpose of the railway and many more details.
5. Hellfire Pass or Konyu Cutting — Anzac memorial and museum
For us, the most significant site of the Burma Railway is Hellfire Pass. This place brings into sharp focus the horrors and insurmountable tasks the PoWs had to endure. Hellfire Pass — or Konyu Cutting — is the deepest and longest section of excavation along the railway.
Men hacked and chipped their way through solid rock on no sleep, no food, no water, and the threat of pain and death always hanging over them. The cutting runs 25 metres deep and 75 metres long, and is wide enough for a train to fit through.
At the end of the cutting is the ANZAC Memorial where the Dawn Service is held on 25th April every year. We were lucky enough to be able to attend the Dawn Service here. Outside Europe, this is one of the few memorials that hold such a ceremony in a place that has seen active conflict.
It’s an immensely thought-provoking place that brings to life the enormity of what the soldiers who suffered here had to endure.
While you’re here at Konyu Cutting, make sure you also visit the Hellfire Pass Interpretive Centre and Memorial Walkway.
This museum has some fascinating (and haunting) exhibits, which start with sounds of steel hammers on stone and a narrow corridor representing the cutting. On the walls are the names of the men who worked on the railway.
They cover both walls, floor to ceiling.
6. Hintok River Camp
There are plenty of places to stay around the area, including in Kanchanaburi Town itself. We stayed close to Hellfire Pass at the Hintok River Camp.
Once a labour camp for British PoWs working on nearby Compressor Cutting, this site is now a glamping resort.
There are plenty of nods to its history, including the replica guard tower at the entrance, but thankfully it’s nothing like what the site’s previous occupants would’ve had to put up with.
The ‘tents’ are extremely comfortable — with a full bathroom, kingsize bed and even a/c. Breakfast and dinner are served here at the camp, there’s a pool and deck out on the river, and you can even grab a massage at the on-site spa!
A long way indeed from the conditions of the 1940s.
7. Nam Tok Station – the end of the line
This is our last stop on the Burma-Siam Railway. From here, you can board one of the old mulberry and gold carriages of a heritage train.
It’s a strange, conflicting feeling riding this line.
On one hand, you’re appalled at the brutality that occurred here. On the other, you can’t help but feel impressed by what these men were able to achieve under such conditions.
And yet still more conflicting are the views from the train windows, which are at times so beautiful, it’s easy to forget the real reason you’re taking this ride. The curve of the track shows the train’s flank and the timber trestles as it leans against the edges of cliffs.
Occasionally, the river comes into view following the train, and running fast through fields and amongst little villages that roll on by.
It’s an iconic train ride in a place that brings deep reflection.
