Thailand-Burma Death Railway

A prior drone video reminded me of my time chasing trains on the Death Railway in Thailand. This line, memorialized on film by The Bridge over the River Kwai, was built by the Japanese Army in World War 2. The Japanese Army used slave labor from British, Australian, Dutch and American POWs, along with enslaved Malay and Indonesian civilians, were forced to work in nightmarish conditions to build the line. Over 12,000 POWs and 90,000 civilians died building the railroad, and the Thai countryside is doted with memorials, temples, and cemeteries honoring those killed by construction.

The line was severed after World War 2, and the Thai portion is now operated by the State Railways of Thailand (SRT) serving the communities along 150km of the railway. While living in Thailand after graduating college, I spent a week on the line, chasing trains using a rented motorcycle. It was a memorable and fun train chasing trip, and I got some shots despite interference from a troop of monkeys, a few vipers, and traffic jams caused by wandering water buffalo.

Here are a few of the images, all taken December 2012.