Chumphon – Khao Fachi railway line
| Chumphon – Khao Fachi | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Route length: | 91 km | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 1000 mm ( meter gauge ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Chumphon – Khao Fachi railway was the second railway line built in Thailand by the Japanese Army during World War II , along with the Thailand-Burma Railway .
Politico-military situation
After the Japanese Empire conquered Malaysia, Singapore , Thailand and Burma during World War II in 1941/1942, the Thai government came to terms with the occupiers and entered the war on the Japanese side.
With their conquests in Indonesia , Indochina , Malaysia and Singapore, the Japanese fell into their hands with track material and sleepers as well as numerous railway vehicles from the conquered areas, which was the material prerequisite for the construction of the Thailand-Burma railway and the Chumphon-Khao Fachi line. In contrast to the Thailand-Burma Railway, hardly any prisoners of war were used in the construction of the Chumphon – Khao Fachi line.
The narrowest point of the Malay Peninsula , the Isthmus of Kra , was considered a strategically sensitive point: The Japanese feared an Allied landing here , in order to separate the Japanese armed forces in Malaysia and south of it from those in Thailand, Indochina and Burma . Furthermore, the long and therefore risky transport by sea around the Malay Peninsula , around Singapore and through the Strait of Malacca should be avoided wherever there was a risk of attack by Allied submarines .
The generals therefore recommended strengthening the local infrastructure with a railway line that enabled troops and material to be transported quickly across the isthmus.
construction
The line was built and operated independently of the Thai railroad by the Japanese military . However, the technical parameters of the Thai railroad were used and the line was connected to the southern runway in order to enable the unproblematic transition from railway vehicles to the line. So for the single-track line z. B. is based on the usual meter gauge in Thailand.
The proposal for the construction was made on May 13, 1943 by the Japanese , Thailand agreed on May 31. Construction began the next day. Railway material that was dismantled in Malaysia was used: the Japanese allowed 320 km of tracks on the eastern route between Kuala Krai and Mantakab to go along with them, as well as some branch lines , a total of 444 km, and 92 km of other track systems. The workforce for the construction of the Chumphon – Khao Fachi railway line was 20,000-25,000 coolies . Work was carried out day and night in harsh conditions. Many died or fled the construction sites.
The route comprised seven stations and 31 bridges. The line went into operation on December 25, 1943. A special structural feature at the west end of the line was that Khao Fachi station had a turning loop with which the trains could start their return journey without having to move the locomotive.
business
At the eastern end of the line in Chumphon there was no connection to a port. The coastal waters are shallow and building it would have been laborious. Everything had with barges ashore and placed on the road to Chumphon. Therefore mainly troops, but hardly any goods, were transported over the connection. At the eastern end of the line in Khao Fachi, however, there was a port. The troops were embarked here on small boats and brought north through the many islands off Burma's coast. On average, 300 soldiers were transported each day. There was at least one train every day on the route, more if necessary - up to over 30 a day.
The Allies carried out air strikes on the route and its facilities several times .
The End
With the surrender of Japan , Great Britain viewed the railway line as spoils of war and its property. It still dismantled them in 1945 and brought the track material back to Malaysia to repair the damage caused by the Japanese there.
literature
- BR Whyte: The Railway Atlas of Thailand, Laos and Cambodia . White Lotus Co Ltd, Bangkok 2010, ISBN 978-974-480-157-9