Kanchanaburi and the River Kwai

Construction of the railway between Ban Pong in Thailand and Thanbyuzayat in Burma began in 1942, and the line opened on 25 October 1943. It was built by around 60,000 Allied prisoners of war, mainly British, Australian, Dutch and American, and by far larger numbers of conscripted Asian labourers. Disease, starvation and brutal treatment killed about 12,000 prisoners and an estimated 90,000 or more civilian labourers. The bridge at Tha Makham, about five kilometres from the town, was built first in wood and then in steel and concrete, using spans brought from Java. Allied aircraft bombed it in 1945, and it was later repaired.

After the war, the Army Graves Service moved the graves of prisoners from the southern section of the railway into Kanchanaburi War Cemetery, designed by Colin St Clair Oakes, and into Chungkai War Cemetery nearby; the graves from the Burmese section went to Thanbyuzayat. In 1960 the stretch of the Mae Klong that passes under the bridge was renamed Khwae Yai, reflecting the fame the bridge had gained abroad. The Thailand-Burma Railway Centre opened in 2003.

Kanchanaburi is a provincial market town with a strong river culture. Floating restaurants and raft hotels line the Khwae Yai, and the night market and street stalls near the bridge serve river fish, noodles and grilled snacks. Thai families come at weekends for the riverside resorts and waterfalls.