A cliffside viaduct
Timber hugging rock above the river.
This Photo was taken by Supanut Arunoprayote. Feel free to use any of my images, but please mention me as the author and may send me a message. (สามารถใช้ภาพได้อิสระ แต่กรุณาใส่เครดิตผู้ถ่ายและอาจส่งข — CC BY 4.0 · Wayne77 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · calflier001 — CC BY-SA 2.0
The most beautiful surviving stretch of the Death Railway: a curving timber viaduct clinging to a rock cliff above the Khwae Noi River, some four hundred metres long, built by prisoners on massive wooden trestles along one of the line's hardest sections. Between 1942 and 1943 the Japanese army forced some sixty thousand Allied prisoners of war and hundreds of thousands of Asian labourers to build a railway about 415 kilometres long between Thailand and Burma; tens of thousands died of starvation, disease and exhaustion, and it became known as the «Death Railway». Trains still cross the viaduct very slowly today on the Kanchanaburi–Nam Tok line, and riding this stretch is one of Thailand's most enjoyable train journeys, with river views from the window. Midway along is a small cave in the cliff holding a Buddha image, reached on foot along a walkway beside the rails. Walking the viaduct is free, with close attention to train times, as the walkway is narrow and high in places; hold children firmly. By the station are a restaurant and cafe overlooking the river. It can be reached by car, or by train from Kanchanaburi in about two hours, and combined with Hellfire Pass and Sai Yok Noi waterfall. Arrive before a train is due to photograph it crossing the cliff.
Timber hugging rock above the river.
One of Thailand's finest.
Midway along the viaduct.
Tham Krasae, Sai Yok, about 45 km north-west of Kanchanaburi town
The train is a treat but slow with few departures. Short on time? Drive to Tham Krasae, then ride a short stretch by train if the timing suits.