Thai – Myanmar Link Railway

The is no railway link between Myanmar and Thailand at the moment. It used to be connected during the 2nd worldwar for military use. Which is the bad reputation “Thai – Myanmar Link Railway”.

The name is directly translated from Japanese word “Tai-men Rensetsu Tetsudo”, commonly known as “The Death Railway” which was built by Prisoners of war, started in June 1942, completed and opened in October 1943 to supply troops and weapons in Burma during the 2nd World War. Much of the construction materials, such as tracks and sleepers, were sourced from the Federated Malay States Railway network and the East Indies’ various rail networks dismantled branches.

The bridge from nearest station Thamkra Sae

Before the Japanese started building the linkage to Burma, it was once surveyed by the British government of Burma during the end of 19th century, but found to be difficult to overcome many of the hardship due to mountainous terrain and rivers. The project had not been materialized.

The link to Burma, again was dismantled by Prisoners of War, when the war ends. But, by the Japanese this time, upon British instruction, for protecting the British interests in Singapore.

The iconic bridge near Thamkra Sae station today many can visit, was actually damaged due to British air strike during the war. It was then repaired by using angular truss spans provided by Japanese builders brought from Java in the Dutch East Indies.

The upper part of the rail link in Khao Laem National Park is now flooded by the Vajiralongkorn Dam. And the section after Nam Tok remains unrepaired as at today.

Tourist usually travel to Thamkra Sae station and walk through the historical iconic bridge to Lumsum station. Or vis-versa. Is one of the popular heritage trails in Kanchanaburi today.