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Thailand has history that not many people know about. During WWII the Japanese used POWs in Thailand to build a railway to Burma from Bangkok. This railway was to be used to transport rubber for the war from Burma. Because the landscape on the way to Burma on the western side of Thailand is very intense, many POWs died in the making of the railway. Along with the heat, disease, cliffs, and intense labor it was too much for many POWs, hence the nickname, death railway.

Today the railway is a very scenic part of the Kanchanaburi province and one of the popular methods of transportation within the province among tourists and locals.

How to Take the Train

It is fairly easy to take the train from Bangkok Thonburi station to the end of the line at Nam Tok. Take train number 257 which leaves at 7:50am. You’ll arrive in NamTok at about 12:30pm. It tends to be on the boring side for the first 2 to 3 hours. The train is open air with no A/C so bring a face mask to cover your nose and mouth from all the pollen in the air. As the train goes through the Thailand countryside you’ll see sugarcane and rice fields. On the way back, take train number 259 which leaves at 1:55pm and arrives back at Thonburi at 6:30pm.

You can buy tickets for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd class seating. On the way to NamTok, we bought 3rd class tickets for 100 baht. This ticket is for a bench seat with a very straight back and no cushion. As you can imagine, it was quite uncomfortable for 5 hours, but you get what you pay for. During the journey there are people that will walk up and down the train selling cheap food and drinks. I actually saw a few of them hop on and off trains while we were stopped at a station to try and sell all their food to as many customers as possible.

Sleeping on the River

I stayed at a local resort on the Khwae River with a group from an app called MeetUp. It’s hard to find if you’re not local and doesn’t show up on English maps, but it is by the Kra Sae Cave. We stayed here overnight on the river. Like literally on the river. The rooms were on floating cabins on the banks of the river. We could watch the trains from the death railway go by around the cliff from our cabin.

The resort provided two meals during our stay. Since the cabins were on the river, the restrooms were in a different part of the resort which was a little inconvenient. The restrooms were very basic communal areas with no hot water which is pretty common in rural Thailand. After settling in, the resort took us upriver on a raft to go swimming in the afternoon.

During the evening hours the resort puts on some entertainment for all the guests in attendance. We all enjoyed a buffet Thai dinner with some the staff singing karaoke and getting us to participate even though their selection of English songs was very minimal. After dinner, everyone gathered to around the river to listen to the history of the railroad from a recording. The tracks were all lit up with colorful lights. Unfortunately it was all in Thai so I didn’t understand any of it. They lit off some fireworks and asked for a moment of silence for the POWs who died here.

After this was a bonfire with more entertainment. We stayed for a little while but left to retreat back to our cabins early because we were all pretty tired from earlier.

The next day we went back across the river to the railroad to explore the area. Around the train station is a market selling souvenirs, food, and drinks. We took a bunch of photos on the tracks and explored the cave. We learned that the cave was formally a hospital for the POWs working on this part of the railway. Today inside you can find a Buddha statue.

Before long it was time to head back to Bangkok. This time the resort reserved a 1st class car for us on the train. These seats were much more comfortable with cushions and a back.

Fast forward about 5 hours and you are back in the city.