Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(
www.tbrconline.com
; 73 Th Chaokanen; adult/child 100/50B; 9am-5pm)
This in-
formative museum uses video footage, models and detailed display panels to ex-
plain Kanchanaburi's role in WWII. A poignant video from POW survivors ensures
that the deaths remain a tragedy, not merely a statistic.
JEATH WAR MUSEUM
Museum
( Th Wisuttharangsi; admission 30B; 8am-5pm)
This small museum resembles
the bamboo-
ata
in which POWs were kept. The archives focus heavily on surgeon
Sir Edward 'Weary' Dunlop, who saved hundreds of lives by operating on injured
soldiers and fighting to improve basic medical conditions. The museum is run by the
monks of the adjacent
Wat Chaichumphon
(Wat Tai), which in itself is worth a visit.
Jeath is an acronym of the countries involved in the construction of the railway:
Japan, England, Australia and USA, Thailand and Holland.
Why Bridge the Mae Nam Khwae?
The Thailand-Burma railway was built during the WWII-era Japanese occupation of Thail-
and (1942-43) and its objective was to link the 415km of rugged terrain between Thailand
and Burma (Myanmar) to secure an alternative supply route for the Japanese conquest of
other west Asian countries. Some considered the project impossible but the track was
completed despite a lack of equipment and appalling conditions.
Construction began on 16 September 1942 at existing stations at Thanbyuzayat in My-
anmar and Nong Pladuk (Ban Pong) in Thailand. Japanese engineers estimated it would
take five years to link Thailand and Burma by rail. In reality, the Japanese army forced the
POWs to complete the 1m-gauge railway in 16 months.
The bridge that spans the Mae Nam Khwae near Kanchanaburi (dubbed the Death
Railway Bridge) was used for just 20 months before the Allies bombed it in 1945. Rather
than a supply line, the route quickly became an escape path for Japanese troops. After
the war, the British took control of the railway on the Burmese side and ripped up 4km of
the tracks leading to Three Pagodas Pass for fear of the route being used by Karen sep-
aratists.
On the Thai side, the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) assumed control and today con-
tinues to operate trains on 130km of the original route between Nong Pladuk, south of
Kanchanaburi, to Nam Tok. See the boxed text
Click here
.
