The Burma - Thailand Railway was constructed to provide a means of transportation between Burma and the other South East Asian countries occupied by Japanese forces. The railway was to be built over a 412-kilometre stretch from Kanchanaburi (near Bangkok, Thailand) to Thanbyuzayat (200 km SE of Rangoon, Burma).
This railway was to link up with other existing railways, and would give the Japanese a direct supply route from Singapore to Rangoon then access to the established network of railways in Burma. This supply route was necessary to transport troops, weapons, ammunition and other supplies in case of an Allied assault on Burma.
Before the war, the idea of a railway such as this had been examined, but had been dismissed by engineers as it had been found that the project would be too difficult to construct over the particularly rough terrain. Once war had been declared, however, the railway was considered by the Japanese to be a necessity, and it soon became clear that the project was going to be completed regardless of the cost - in economical terms, but more so in terms of human lives sacrificed. The Japanese solved this latter problem by deciding that their captives would be forced to slave on the railway. Between November 1942 and October 1943, a total of more than 60,000 prisoners-of-war (POW) from countries such as Great Britain, America, The Netherlands and Australia, together with 300,000 South East Asian labourers (romusha) were involved in the construction of this line.
Most of the route lay through dense jungle and involved the workers having to first clear a path, dig up both rock and soil, and lay the sleepers and the rails. The conditions that these men had to work under were appalling, and over 12,000 (including 2,800 Australian) POW died during construction, which gave the railway the nickname "The Death Railway". It also accounted for 35% of all Australian POW deaths during WWII. It was later estimated that the rate of death on the railway was one for every sleeper laid. The construction of the railway involved groups of workers starting at either end and working their way towards each other. On 17 October 1943, the two parties joined each end of the railway. The Burma team had constructed 152 kms and the Thai teams 263 kms.
After the railway was completed, a small fraction of POW were left behind to work on maintenance of the railway and to cut wood for fuel. The rest of the prisoners were sent to other camps to work on different projects.
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