After the railway was hurried to completion in 13 months' time, it was announced by the Japanese that a total of about 50,000 lives had been lost in the construction work, including 10,000 Japanese troops as well as 10,000 POWs and 30,000 labourers. But the number of POWs perished was later revised to be 12,399 by the Allied Powers and the actual death tool of labourers was estimated to be as high as about 90,000. So, for some sections of the railway at least, it is no exaggeration to say that one life was sacrificed for every sleeper laid under the track. Hence the nickname Death Railway.
Now the so-called Death Railway is mainly a railway for tourists. It takes you to picturesque countryside to see vast expanses of green fields, a breath-taking viaduct winding along a precipice, long ranges of jungle-covered mountains and a waterfall which is quite a safe place for even children to play in because the water volume is small and the rocks are not slippery. You will see the war cemetery just behind the Kanchanaburi railway station, where 6,982 bodies of British, Dutch, Australian and New Zealand POWs were buried. It is planted with planty of flowers and is kept tidy and clean. The inscriptions on the gravestones are simple but touching. There is another cemetery at Ko Samrong where another 1,750 bodies were interred. But it is a little out of the way and is not usually visited by ordinary tourists. The Japanese also built a small cemetery of their own near the provincial town.
Of course, you will also see the River Kwai Bridge and every section of the remaining Death Railway itself. They, together with the cemeieries, will remind you of the cruelty of war and the agonies suffered by thousands upon thousands of people. But since they have become part of history, you may just as well forget about them and enjoy the beautiful scenery presenting itself before your eyes.
The tourist train leaves the Bangkok railway station every Saturday, Sunday and public holiday at 6.35 a.m. The train arrives back in Bangkok at 7.35 p.m. For more imformation at State Railway of Thailand, Tel. 223-7010 or Tourisim Authority of Thailand
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