Read on to learn more about the Thai-Burma Railway.
The Thai-Burma Railway, also referred to as the Death Railway, is a historically significant railway connecting Ban Pong, Thailand and Thanbyuzayat, Burma. This 415-km long railway was built around 1942 to support the Japanese armed forces in the Burma campaign of World War II. While most of the Burmese portion has been disappeared, some of the Thai portion of the railway is still in use. Although it's now considered as a top-rated tourist attraction, the history is not pleasing at all. So, let's have a look at some of the most lesser-known facts that the railway holds.
The idea behind the construction of this railway was to transport the Japanese army's troops and weapons to the frontlines. The whole construction took 16 months to be completed.
Around 180,000 - 250,000 Southeast Asian civilian laborers and 60,000 Allied prisoners (mostly from India, Australia, United Kingdom etc.) of war were forcefully put into the work of the construction. More than 90,000 laborers and 12,000 Allied prisoners died during the process. Thus, the railway got its another name 'The Death Railway'.
Most of the civilian laborers were promised of good food as well as money before joining the construction process. But ultimately, they got entirely cheated. In fact, the laborers were threatened to death so that they couldn't leave the project.
The railway area is surrounded by a dense jungle filled with mosquitoes. So, the laborers often suffered from mosquito borne diseases. Most of them eventually died due to the lack of hygiene as well as inadequate supplies of medicines. Others died from physical abuse, malnutrition, dysentery, infection etc.
A bridge is usually made of metal and stones. But due to the lack of supply, the Japanese army forced their laborers to construct the bridge with wood. In fact, they had to build the bridge with their hands and some basic tools. This is a reason why the Thai-Burma railway looks so unique!
The railway had 63 separate stations at that time. Most of these have been destroyed over the years.
The Bridge on the River Kwai (Bridge 277) is the most important section of the total railway line. The 1957 Academy Award winning movie 'The Bridge on the River Kwai' (based on Pierre Boulle's novel of the same name) made this bridge famous worldwide. The movie revolves around the workers' struggles while working for this bridge as well as the entire railway. However, the movie was shot at a different bridge in Sri Lanka.
There are several cemeteries (such as Kanchanaburi War Cemetery, Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery, Chungkai War Cemetery), memorials (the major ones are located in Hellfire Pass and Kwai bridge) and museums (such as Thailand–Burma Railway Centre, JEATH War Museum) that offer an insight into the history of Thai-Burma railway.
