The railway after the war

Whenever I visit the Burma-Thailand Railway, I am always on the lookout for something that adds a little extra to the story of the railway now 75 years old. On my recent visit, at Nam Tok Railway Station, almost at the end of the current operating section of the railway, I found an old framed black and white photo taken back in 1955, showing the reconstruction of the Bridge over the River Kwai which was badly damaged by allied bombing during the war.

*Reconstruction of the Bridge over the River Kwai (Click to enlarge)*

While many are aware of the story of the construction of the 415 kilometre railway and the appalling loss of life, this picture signifies the story of the line after the war.

The Railway was built to supply the Japanese troops fighting against the Allies in Burma (now Myanmar). The line was completed in October 1943 and until the end of the war and despite substantial damage inflicted by allied bombing, it managed to keep operating.

After the war, although in very poor condition, the Railway was used to bring both POW and Japanese personnel back down into Thailand. Once that was done, it was used for the grim task of transporting the remains of POW’s recovered from little cemeteries along the railway, to the war cemeteries at Chungkai and Kanchanaburi in Thailand and Thanbyuzayat in Burma.

In determining the future of the railway after the war, the Allies had two points to consider. Firstly, the importance of this rail link between Thailand and Burma given that the terrain made it extremely difficult to maintain the line. Some bridges were almost too weak to carry locomotives and in some cases even the carriages had to be moved across one by one. Consequently, it was thought that substantial financial resources would have to be devoted to the railway to upgrade its infrastructure, if it was to continue operating.

Secondly, it was deemed that there was a need for the restitution of losses by countries where not only had the Japanese forcibly recruited labour for the Railway but had also commandeered locomotives, rolling stock and track. For example, the steel bridge spans used in constructing the Bridge over the River Kwai, had been taken from an existing rail bridge in Java, now part of Indonesia.

In 1947, the Allies decided that the railway from Thanbyuzayat (Burma) to the Burma-Thailand border would be torn up and the Thailand section sold to the Thai Government. The proceeds of this sale were to go to countries entitled to reparation.

The Thai Government closed the Railway and much of the materials were used in its railway network elsewhere in Thailand. However, in 1957, the Thai Government reopened a 130 kilometre section of the Railway from Nong Pladuc (on the main line from Bangkok to Singapore) north to Nam Tok. This section continues today as a very popular tourist line, passing over the Bridge over the River Kwai, through the Chungkai Cutting and over the spectacular Wang Pho Viaduct, on its way to Nam Tok.

Beyond Nam Tok, the jungle and farming are gradually reclaiming the railway. Remants of the disused section can be seen by the trained eye at various places. However, at Hellfire Pass, a walking trail has been developed through cooperation between the Thai and Australian Governments that allows the visitor to appreciate the challenges confronting the POW’s in building this mountainous section of the railway.

The Traitor of Singapore

Bombing of the Bridge over the River Kwai