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Hell Fire Pass Memorial Museum, Kanchanaburi
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This is located some 80 kms north-west of the town on Highway 323. To commemorate all those who died in the Pcific during the Second World War, the Australian Government in co-operation with the Government of Thailand, has provided thisinterpretive memorial, the Hell Fire Pass Memorial Museum, and walking trails. This museum explains to visitors the story of why and how the railway was built and attempts to convey the hardships and suffering endured by so many who were forced to work in extremely harsh conditions. The museum symbolised the importance of this site to Austrialian people. It also reflects the enduring bonds of friendship that have grown between the people of Thailand and those nations whose citizens worked on the Burma-Thailand railway.
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Comment#
1
at:
2008-10-08 00:55:10
Comment by:
TT
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 The railway as a remaining part.
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Comment#
2
at:
2008-10-08 00:57:54
Comment by:
TT
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 The Konyu cutting was a particularly difficult section of the line to build due to it being the largest rock cutting on the railway, coupled with its general remoteness and the lack of proper construction tools during building. A tunnel would have been possible to build instead of a cutting, but this could only be constructed at the two ends at any one time, whereas the cutting could be constructed at all points simultaneously despite the excess effort required by the POWs. The Australian, British, Dutch and other allied Prisoners of War were required by the Japanese to work 18 hours a day to complete the cutting. Sixty nine men were beaten to death by Japanese and Korean guards in the six weeks it took to build the cutting, and many more died from cholera, dysentery, starvation, and exhaustion,
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Comment#
3
at:
2008-10-08 00:59:35
Comment by:
TT
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 However, the majority of deaths occurred amongst labourers whom the Japanese enticed to come to help build the line with promises of good jobs. These labourers, mostly Malayans (Chinese, Malays and Tamils from Malaya), suffered mostly the same as the POWs at the hands of the Japanese. The Japanese kept no records of these deaths.
The railway was never built to a level of lasting permanence and was frequently bombed by the Royal Air Force during the Burma Campaign. After the war, all but the present section was closed. There are currently no plans to reopen it.
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Comment#
4
at:
2008-10-08 01:00:19
Comment by:
TT
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There are no longer any trains running on this stretch of the line.
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Comment#
5
at:
2008-12-15 02:22:24
Comment by:
kluay
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เด็กกาญจ์
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Comment#
6
at:
2010-09-02 13:31:09
Comment by:
z
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