The Death Railway Train Ride (Nam Tok Line)

The single best way to grasp the Death Railway is to ride what’s left of it. The State Railway of Thailand still runs the line from Bangkok’s Thonburi out to Nam Tok, and the leg from Kanchanaburi is a slow, rattling, open-window journey across the very ground POWs died building.

Why It’s Interesting

From town the train trundles over the Bridge on the River Kwai, then follows the Kwai Noi upstream through cuttings and paddy before the highlight: the Wang Pho (Wampo) viaduct at Tham Krasae, where the carriages inch along a curving timber trestle bolted to a cliff, the brown river sliding past just below the windows. It is beautiful and sobering at once — the scenery that cost so many lives, seen from the rails they laid by hand.

Getting There

Board at Kanchanaburi station (or at River Kwai Bridge station to roll across the spans) and ride to Nam Tok, the present end of the line, near Sai Yok Noi waterfall. Only a handful of services run daily, so check the timetable, then let the train set the pace.