The Death Railway in Thailand

The River Kwai Bridge Week
28 November – 9 December 2007

Venue: Kanchanaburi

The most notorious railway in the world must be the Death Railway in Kanchanaburi, a tourist province bordering Myanmar, 126 km to the west of Bangkok.

This railway was built by the Japanese Army in 1942 during World War II as a route of supply extending 413 km from Nog Pladuk of Thailand to Thanbyuzayat of Burma (former name of Myanmar).

To rush the work to an early completion in rugged mountains and deep jungles of Kanchanaburi, a total of 61,700 allied POWs and 270,000 Asian forced labourers were sent to work on the project. They had to work in hot and damp weather conditons 10 hours aday and 7 days a week with little to eat. Epidemics of malaria and cholera were rampant among them, and there was not enough medicine to go round.

Under such extremely harsh conditions, almost half of the workers had perished when the construction of the railway and the bridge over the River Kwai was finished 13 months later.

However, this railway was made use of by the Japanese for only a few months because they failed to turn back the overwhelming waves of counteroffensive launched by the allied powers.

To commemorate the tragic history of the railway and to promote the tourism of Kanchanaburi, the municipality of the provincial town, the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the State Railway jointly hold the annual festival of The River Kwai Bridge Week from 28 Nov. to 9 Dec. 2007 in the area around the bridge.

The festival features a historical exhibition, fun fair, bazaar and enticing light & sound presentation. Tickets to the show are available at 100, 200, and 300 baht.

For more details and ticket reservations :
TAT Kanchanaburi
Tel : +66 (0) 3451 1200, 3451 2500