Burma to reopen part of Death Railway

Burma aims to restore a stretch of the infamous Death Railway to Thailand that was initially built by Japanese-held prisoners of war, the minister in charge of the scheme says.

The railway was immortalised in the film, The Bridge on the River Kwai, which showed the dreadful working conditions endured by tens of thousands of POWs who built the track during World War II.

A feasibility study on the 105 kilometre stretch running from Burma's Three Pagodas Pass area to Thailand is scheduled to begin in October, Railway Minister Aung Min told AFP late on Saturday.

"We will reopen this (rail)road. The other countries said they would also help us and we will continue working for it," Aung Min said after peace talks with ethnic Shan rebels.

"We will do a survey and try to start working after the rainy season with the help of the international community."

Long isolated under decades of army rule, Burma has embarked on a rapid series of political and economic reforms under President Thein Sein, including moves to improve relations with neighbours.

The railway would provide a much-needed economic shot in the arm for the impoverished area, which is home to Burma's rebellious Karen ethnic group, by boosting trade with Thailand and attracting tourists.

Built by the Japanese between 1942 and 1943 to shuttle supplies from Thailand into Burma along a route that engineers had long considered impossible, the rail link was destroyed by Allied bombers in 1945.

Some 13,000 POWs succumbed to abuse, malnutrition and disease during the 14 months it took to carve the 424km railway through dense jungles and mountains, under orders from their Japanese captors.

It is also estimated that 80,000 to 100,000 Asian civilians, also used as forced labour, perished in the railway's construction, but most of their remains have no known markers or graves.

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