[3] Inaccuracies include the identification of the wrong river, construction was not in the jungle, but near a city, two bridges had been built, which were destroyed at the end of World War II, and commander Philip Toosey did not collaborate with the Japanese.

[3][4][5] In 1939, plans had been developed by the Empire of Japan to construct a rail road connecting Thailand with Burma.

[6] On 26 October 1942, British prisoners of war arrived at Tamarkan, 56 kilometres from the start of the railway, to construct a bridge over the Khwae Yai River.

[1] Even though the railway makes an apparent detour by crossing at Tamarkan instead of Kanchanaburi, the ground was more stable and there was less chance of flooding.

[2] In February 1943, 1,000 Dutch prisoners of war commanded by Captain Hendrik Anthonie Tillema arrived, and five more huts were added.

[2][8] In January 1943,[2] there was a cholera outbreak in the nearby Malayan conscript labour camp.