Kwai River Bridge

The Kwai River Bridge was built as part of a meter-gauge railway built by the Japanese during WWII. It is most known for being the scene for the 1957 World War II epic Bridge on the River Kwai.

The Death Railway, which extended for 250 miles from Ban Pong, Thailand, to Thanbyuzayat, Burma, is now known. It was constructed with the help of POWs and Asian slave workers who were held in deplorable circumstances. The project began in October 1942 and took a year to finish. It was designed to convey cargo close to India on a regular basis in support of a planned Japanese invasion on India. The bridge was bombed by the Allies in 1944, and pieces of it were damaged and are now on display at the War Museum.

The Death Railway got its name from the large number of people who died while building it, notably the construction of railway bridge number 277 in June 1943, which allowed the track to cross what is now known as the Khwae Noi River and is recognized across the globe as the Bridge on the River Kwai. Estimates vary, but over 13,000 of the over 60,000 prisoners of war imprisoned on the Death Railway, as well as as many as 90,000 Southeast Asian civilian forced laborers, are estimated to have died.

The bridge is now accessible by foot or a tiny tourist train that goes back and forth. Every year on November 28th, a light and sound spectacular is held to remember the bombing. This is also in the list of the most beautiful historical sites in Thailand.

Location: Kanchanaburi