Hellfire Pass

Hellfire Pass is the name of a railway cutting on the Death Railway in Thailand, known by the Japanese as Konyu cutting. There is a museum co-sponsored by the Thai and Australian governments at the site to commemerate the suffering of those involved in the construction of the railway. Konyu cutting was a particularly difficult section of the line to build due to it being the largest rock cutting on the railway, coupled with its general remoteness and the lack of proper construction tools during building. The Australian, British, Dutch and other allied Prisoners of War were required by the Japanese to work 18 hours a day to complete the cutting. It was estimated that 68 men were beaten to death by the Japanese guards in the six weeks it took to build the cutting, although many more died from cholera, dysentery, starvation, and exhaustion . However, the majority of deaths occurred amongst labourers whom the Japanese enticed to come to help build the line with promises of good jobs. These labourers, mostly Malays, suffered mostly the same as the PoWs at the hands of the Japanese. The Japanese kept no records of these deaths.

Related Topics:
Death Railway - Thailand - Japanese - Australia - Cholera - Dysentery - Starvation - Exhaustion

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There are 4 Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries along the line of the railway, 2 at Kanchanaburi in Thailand, and another as Thayzakarun in Burma.

Related Topics:
Commonwealth War Graves Commission - Kanchanaburi - Thayzakarun - Burma

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The railway was never built to a quality level of lasting permanence and was frequently bombed by the Royal Air Force during the Burma Campaign. After the war, all but the present section was closed. There are currently no plans to reopen it.

Related Topics:
Royal Air Force - Burma Campaign

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There are no longer any trains running on this stretch of the line, the nearest railway station is at Nam Tok from where trains of the State Railway of Thailand can be caught running over the famous Whampo viaduct, and across the bridge over the River Kwai to Kanchanaburi which is the nearest major town and tourist base. Visitors to the museum usually base themselves in Kanchanaburi and it is possible to roll into one day a trip to the famous Erewan waterfall in the morning, followed by a trip to Hellfire Pass and the museum and then catch the train back to Kanchanaburi to cross the famous bridge around sunset.

Related Topics:
State Railway of Thailand - Bridge over the River Kwai - Kanchanaburi - Erewan

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As a part of the museum experience it is possible to walk through the cutting itself and along a section of the former railway trackbed. An audio tour including recorded memories of surviving Prisoners of War is available at the Museum.

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Hellfire Pass is also another name for Halfaya Pass in north Africa.

Related Topics:
Halfaya Pass - Africa

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