A railway station linked to one of World War II’s most tragic stories resurfaced in western Thailand after a reservoir was drained for maintenance. The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand drained the reservoir at Vajiralongkorn Dam, revealing Nithe Station in Kanchanaburi province. Researchers and historians quickly travelled to the area to study the station before it disappeared beneath the water again.
Nithe Station was once a major stop along the 415-kilometre Death Railway, built during World War II to connect Thailand with Myanmar. Around 60,000 Allied prisoners of war from countries including Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States were forced to build the railway by Japanese forces, alongside hundreds of thousands of Asian labourers. More than 12,500 prisoners and 75,000 labourers died during construction, giving the railway its grim nickname.
Researchers used the rare opportunity to search for artefacts and study the site’s layout. Australian researcher Martyn Fryer, whose grandfather died as a prisoner of war working on the railway, travelled from Perth to visit the station. He used a metal detector to scan the area, uncovering iron spikes, bridge staples and other wartime objects. Researcher Andrew Snow helped compare wartime aerial photographs with hand-drawn maps to locate former prisoner of war camps nearby.
Time was limited for researchers, as dam maintenance was due to finish in August and the rainy season was expected to refill the reservoir. Hundreds of Thai visitors also travelled to the area to see the exposed station, with social media posts about the site attracting millions of views.
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