Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Foreword
- Introduction
- Across the Three Pagodas Pass
- Translator’s Acknowledgements
- Preface
- Chapter 1 Departure for the Front
- Chapter 2 In Indo-China
- Chapter 3 Opening of Hostilities
- Chapter 4 The River Krian
- Chapter 5 The Malayan Campaign
- Chapter 6 The Fall of Singapore
- Chapter 7 Surrender
- Chapter 8 Shōnan: Light of the South
- Chapter 9 The Thai-Burma Railway
- Chapter 10 Preparing Construction
- Chapter 11 Banpong
- Chapter 12 Prisoners-of-War
- Chapter 13 Constructing the Railway
- Chapter 14 Thailand
- Chapter 15 The River Kwae Noi
- Chapter 16 The Mae Khlaung Bridge
- Chapter 17 Kanchanaburi
- Chapter 18 The Jungle
- Chapter 19 From Bangkok to Singapore
- Chapter 20 Rush Construction
- Chapter 21 The Base at Wanyai
- Chapter 22 The Labour Force
- Chapter 23 Survey Unit
- Chapter 24 Test Run
- Chapter 25 Bridge-Building and Shifting Earth
- Chapter 26 The Rainy Season: The Monsoon
- Chapter 27 Kinsaiyok
- Chapter 28 Diseases and Epidemics
- Chapter 29 Cattle Drive
- Chapter 30 Living in the Jungle
- Chapter 31 Soon to the Three Pagodas Pass
- Chapter 32 Towards the Setting Sun
- Chapter 33 Opening to Traffic
- Chapter 34 The Bombing
- Chapter 35 End of the War
- Chapter 36 Internment
- Chapter 37 Repatriation
- Footnote
- Postscript
- End Notes
- Glossary
- Bibliography
- Index
Chapter 33 - Opening to Traffic
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 May 2022
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Foreword
- Introduction
- Across the Three Pagodas Pass
- Translator’s Acknowledgements
- Preface
- Chapter 1 Departure for the Front
- Chapter 2 In Indo-China
- Chapter 3 Opening of Hostilities
- Chapter 4 The River Krian
- Chapter 5 The Malayan Campaign
- Chapter 6 The Fall of Singapore
- Chapter 7 Surrender
- Chapter 8 Shōnan: Light of the South
- Chapter 9 The Thai-Burma Railway
- Chapter 10 Preparing Construction
- Chapter 11 Banpong
- Chapter 12 Prisoners-of-War
- Chapter 13 Constructing the Railway
- Chapter 14 Thailand
- Chapter 15 The River Kwae Noi
- Chapter 16 The Mae Khlaung Bridge
- Chapter 17 Kanchanaburi
- Chapter 18 The Jungle
- Chapter 19 From Bangkok to Singapore
- Chapter 20 Rush Construction
- Chapter 21 The Base at Wanyai
- Chapter 22 The Labour Force
- Chapter 23 Survey Unit
- Chapter 24 Test Run
- Chapter 25 Bridge-Building and Shifting Earth
- Chapter 26 The Rainy Season: The Monsoon
- Chapter 27 Kinsaiyok
- Chapter 28 Diseases and Epidemics
- Chapter 29 Cattle Drive
- Chapter 30 Living in the Jungle
- Chapter 31 Soon to the Three Pagodas Pass
- Chapter 32 Towards the Setting Sun
- Chapter 33 Opening to Traffic
- Chapter 34 The Bombing
- Chapter 35 End of the War
- Chapter 36 Internment
- Chapter 37 Repatriation
- Footnote
- Postscript
- End Notes
- Glossary
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
On 17 October the Thai-Burma Rail Link track made its connectingup point from Burma-side and from Thai-side at a point just West of Konkuita station about 40 km south-east of the Thai-Burma frontier, a joining-up point in mid-jungle, 262.53 km from the starting point at Nong Pladuk.
Respectively from east to west the track-laying squads of 5 and 9 railway regiments calculated their distances of track and aimed at meeting in the early morning at Konkuita on the day. Major-General Ishida Hideguma came to Konkuita expressly to take command of the act of making the connection. In the east on Thai-side it was 9 Railway Regiment's 2 Battalion, on the west on Burma-side it was 5 Railway Regiment's 1 Battalion, who each must recall how they had had the responsible honour of joining up the railtrack. They expected to complete it at noon on the day, and at 11 a.m. the contest started under the GOC's direction. The two squads had a gap of 200 metres between them.
Railway Official Katamura of 4 Special Bridging Unit was at the site and he described the scene as follows:
I was at the time near the point at which the sets of rails joined up. The sky above the jungle at Konkuita was quite clear. There were massive growths of green leaves on the trees and although the tropical sunlight gave no shade they kept cascading down to the ground under the trees. The hour of noon drew near. Shrilling of cicadas assailed our ears. Work had stopped on the roadbed a day or so previously. The railtrack stretched out making a straight line through the jungle. The embankment was low at this point. At 11 a.m. GOC Ishida gave the command to start the contest. Soon from both sides East and West in the jungle could be heard the shouts of command in unison of the two track-laying squads who braced themselves to the task in their race to get there first. Rails loaded on flatcars were propelled by rail-tractors, moved ahead and the worksquads lined up the sleepers. Then several soldiers with loud shouts in unison dropped each rail down on the sleepers. Gaps between rails were aligned and dog-spikes driven in with mells to fix the rails to the sleepers.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Across the Three Pagodas PassThe Story of the Thai-Burma Railway, pp. 174 - 178Publisher: Amsterdam University PressPrint publication year: 2013