The "Death Railway" in Kanchanaburi, Thailand

Kanchanburi town is a very quaint & friendly place with hospitable & amenable people who take pride in their picturesque location. The town also has it’s fair share of inspiring Buddhist temples, lush greeneries, breathtaking waterfalls and captivating mountain scenery.

However, Kanchanaburi is made more famous(or infamous) by the Death Railway which is located close by, this was a railway line constructed during World War II by the Imperial Japanese Army, which cost the lives of over 100,000 POW’s(prisoners of war), Burmese & Thai’s alike! .

The Japanese occupation of Kanchanaburi in World War II brought on atrocities, cruelties and death because of the Japanese Imperial Army’s fiery obsession to link Burma (Myanmar) and Siam (Thailand) by means of the railway to transport much needed supplies for the fight against the British in Burma(Myanmar).

The railway was called “the Death Railway” for it is believed that as many as 16,000 prisoners of war (Dutch, Americans, Australians and British) & up to 90,000 Asians who were forced to build the railway to ease communication and transportation of the Japanese armies died during it’s construction of a mixture of overwork, malnutrition & disease.

The railway designed by S.O. No was estimated to be built and finished in five years. This time frame was not acceptable to the Imperial army, so the P.O.W.’s & Asian workers were press-ganged into the construction. It is believed that up to 250,000 in total worked on the construction of the railway line.

Many died in constructing the railway, thus the moniker Death Railway. The Imperial Army’s cruelty was unparalleled as food was scarce, inhumane living conditions, tortures as punishment and no medical treatment. It was said that “38 prisoners of wars died for every kilometer of the railway constructed”. It was also said “that for every sleeper laid a human life was sacrificed”. There were a total of 120,000 sleepers laid.

Areas of the "Death Railway" line are still open today as a tourist attraction, and there are still plans to re-instate the complete length originally built, but it has never got beyond the planning stage to date!.

For further information about Kanchanaburi & the Death Railway please click the link.

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