Min Thu Ta – Three Pagodas Pass – At the May 15th opening ceremony of the Karen National Union (KNU) liaison office in Three Pagodas Pass (TPP), Minister U Aung Min said the Thanphyuzayart Railway, built during World War II and commonly known as the “Death Railway,” is to be reconstructed.
“The current road follows the path of the old railway, so I will use this same route for the new tracks. A new motorway will be built parallel to the [newly-constructed] railway.”
Within three or four years, the train will allow TPP residents to travel to Rangoon and Burmese citizens to travel to Bangkok, Thailand, promised the Minister.
Additionally, he explained that the chief ministers of Karen and Mon States would be jointly responsible for creating an industrial zone in TPP, according to the negotiated Union plan.
The attending governmental delegation was led by Minister U Aung Min and included the Minister of Energy U Than Htay, the Minister of Immigration and Population U Khin Ye, and the Karen Chief Minister U Zaw Min.
Also participating was the delegation representing the KNU, led by commander-in-chief of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) Senior General Mutu Say Phoe, along with high-ranking leaders Phado David Htaw, Phado Kaywe Htoo Win, Phado Shwe Moung, Phado Aung Maw Aye, and Brigadier General “Johnny.”
TPP is 60 miles from Thanphyuzayart, and the two are currently connected by a dirt road that becomes unusable in the rainy season. The “Death Railway” was built by Japan during World War II using forced labor, and the resulting deaths of approximately 100,000 Asian laborers and Allied POWs gave the finished product its macabre name.
At the end of World War II, the railway was destroyed as the Japanese army retreated, but the path has since been being used as the main TPP-Thanphyuzayart motorway.
