Events

A section of railway line extending through a deep, narrow vertical channel cut into a hill

The Building of Hellfire Pass

The Burma-Thailand railway was built in 1942–43 to supply the Japanese forces in Burma, bypassing the sea routes that…
Map of journeys of POWs to the Burma-Thailand railway

Journeys

For most Allied prisoners of war the journey to the Thai–Burma railway was the first taste of the gruelling life that…
Drawing 'Konyu River Camp dysentery latrines' by Jack Chalker

Surviving

Illness and death were constants on the Thai–Burma railway. Approximately 12 800 of more than 60,000 Allied…
Elaborate monument, central statue of figure with sword raised and ceremonial cannon at left

Burmese and Thai Involvement

The history of the Thai–Burma railway is often told with little reference to the people on whose territory much of it…
A crowd of POWs on deck smile for the camera

After the war

For Australian prisoners of war the Japanese surrender on 15 August 1945 was the first step towards their coming home.