Hell Fire Pass The Thai- Burma Railway

During World War II, thousands of forced local labourers and Allied prisoners of war died constructing the Burma–Thailand railway. The railway, spanning 415 km between Bangkok and Rangoon, was built by the Empire of Japan during World War II. While the railway route had been surveyed by the British government of Burma in the 20th century, the proposed course of the line – through hilly jungle terrain and many rivers – was considered too difficult to complete.

In 1942, Japanese forces invaded Burma from Thailand and conquered it from Britain. To maintain their forces in Burma, the Japanese had to bring supplies and troops to Burma by sea. However, the route was vulnerable to attack by Allied submarines. The obvious alternative was a railway.

The Japanese started the project in June 1942. On 17 October 1943, the two sections of the line met about 18 km south of the Three Pagodas Pass at Konkuita (Kanchanaburi Province).

Most of the POWs were then transferred to Japan. Those left to maintain the line suffered from the appalling living conditions as well as Allied air raids.

The most famous portion of the railway is probably Bridge 277 over the Khwae Yai River, immortalised in the Pierre Boulle book and the subsequent film. The Allies made several attempts to destroy the bridges, finally succeeding to destroy the structure on 2 April 1945. After the war, two square central sections were made in Japan to repair the bridge, and were donated to Thailand.