River Kwai Railway History

The death railway earned its name from the sheer number of lives lost during its construction including that of railway bridge number 277 in june 1943 allowing the track to cross what is today known as the khwae noi river and which has become recognised worldwide as the bridge on the river kwai.
River kwai railway history. Based on a fictional book by french writer pierre boulle it features the construction of the burma railway between 1942 43. The bridge s structure is made of bamboo wood that was then coated in cement with stone pieces. Burma railway also called burma siam railway railway built during world war ii connecting bangkok and moulmein now mawlamyine burma the rail line was built along the khwae noi kwai river valley to support the japanese armed forces during the burma campaign. The two sections with trapezoidal trusses were built by japan after the war as war reparations replacing sections destroyed by allied aircraft.
The bridge on the river kwai is a 1957 epic war film directed by david lean and based on the 1952 novel written by pierre boulle the film uses the historical setting of the construction of the burma railway in 1942 1943. The most well known section of the thailand burma railway was the bridge constructed over the river kwai. You ve probably seen the 1957 move the bridge on the river kwai but you might not know how much of the film was real and how much was fictionalized. More than a movie the death railway that is the bridge on the river kwai the bridge on the river kwai sits in infamy as a classic world war two movie.
It was initially scripted by screenwriter carl foreman who was later replaced by. The railway was completed on oct. More than 12 000 allied prisoners of war pows and tens of thousands of forced labourers perished during its construction. The real history of how the railway between burma and china was built including the bridge is a horrific story.
The cast includes william holden jack hawkins alec guinness and sessue hayakawa. The scaffolding made from bamboo is at the site of the eleven span steel bridge which was completed in april 1943. The river kwai railroad bridge in 2017. The british didn t build the railway in the 19th century because it would be too expensive.
The arched sections are original constructed by japan during wwii. The construction of the railway has been the subject of numerous memoirs novels and films including the the railway man australian author richard flanagan s award winning novel the narrow road to the deep north and the celebrated 1957 film the bridge on the river kwai.