Would you ride a train across a century-old sea bridge, beside an active volcano, or over a sheer jungle gorge? Explore seven astonishing railways that brave storms, cliffs, earthquakes, and even history itself. These tracks have incredible stories—come along for the ride!
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0:00 - Seven Railways That Defy Survival
1:17 - Pamban Bridge and the 1964 Cyclone
4:23 - Java's Rattling Chikubang Bridge
7:33 - The Klondike White Pass Railway
10:30 - Japan's Railway Beneath Mount Aso
12:58 - Ecuador's Devil's Nose Railway
15:52 - The Human Cost of the Death Railway
19:17 - Bangladesh's Pilgrim Trains and Their Legacy
Subscribe for more fascinating journeys.
Comment and tell us what you liked most! #Travel #History #Trains #Engineering #Adventure
👉 This channel was created in collaboration with https://www.youtube.com/@noelpolotv
0:00 - Seven Railways That Defy Survival
1:17 - Pamban Bridge and the 1964 Cyclone
4:23 - Java's Rattling Chikubang Bridge
7:33 - The Klondike White Pass Railway
10:30 - Japan's Railway Beneath Mount Aso
12:58 - Ecuador's Devil's Nose Railway
15:52 - The Human Cost of the Death Railway
19:17 - Bangladesh's Pilgrim Trains and Their Legacy
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TravelTranscript
00:00In front of you is the Bay of Bengal, an ocean that can kill with a single wave.
00:05The water here doesn't simply subside, and there's almost no rest between storms.
00:10An ocean that seems alive.
00:12And in the middle of these waters stands a railway bridge that is more than 2 kilometers long.
00:19It was built more than 100 years ago.
00:22Until just recently, passenger trains still pass through here.
00:2727 steel parts of the bridge were severely corroded by rust.
00:31This is a documented fact, but the bridge remained standing until the end.
00:37Trains continued to pass according to schedule, as if nothing was happening.
00:42This is the first of 7 railways that seem like they shouldn't exist.
00:467 lines, built in different eras, in different countries, and for different reasons.
00:51But they all have one thing in common, trains still pass through them.
00:56Each one of them still exists to this day.
00:59And each has a story to tell.
01:01A story that stubbornly remains silent.
01:05But before we begin, if you're new to our channel,
01:09please click the subscribe button and also hit the notification bell
01:12so you'll always be updated with our new videos.
01:16This story begins on the shores of India, on a night when a massive wall of water fell from the
01:22sky.
01:23The year was 1914.
01:26At that time, the British Empire was building India's first bridge that crossed the sea.
01:30It was more than 2 kilometers long, had 145 pillars,
01:35and had a central section that could be lifted to allow ships to pass through.
01:39At that time, it was the longest sea bridge in India,
01:43and one of the longest of its kind in the world.
01:46For half a century, it continued to carry trains across the sea without any major incidents.
01:52And then came December 1964.
01:56And everything changed.
01:58A powerful storm, one of the most destructive cyclones in the region's history,
02:03was approaching the coast.
02:05A storm surge over 7 meters high was heading toward Pamban Island.
02:09At the same time, a regular passenger train was traveling toward Danushkodi.
02:14It had six carriages with an estimated 200 passengers on board.
02:18An ordinary night trip to the last station.
02:21Imagine for a moment that you are one of those passengers.
02:24You are sitting inside the carriage.
02:26You look out the window and all you see is darkness.
02:30Strong winds and water from the sea.
02:32The train is slowing down.
02:34The wind grows stronger until it's louder than the sound of the train's wheels on the tracks.
02:40And at that very moment, a huge wave hits and sweeps the entire train out into the open.
02:46According to reports, all the passengers on the train died.
02:50They barely had any time to prepare.
02:52The water returned to the bay, but it didn't bring back the train.
02:55The same storm also hit the Pamban Bridge and caused severe damage to the entire structure.
03:01A young engineer named Shrit Haran was given six months to repair the bridge.
03:06But he finished the job in just 46 days.
03:10This was a record that became part of the history of engineering in India.
03:15After this, the Pamban Bridge continued to be used for more than six decades.
03:20But every year, the corrosion of the metal kept getting worse because of the salty air from the sea.
03:25In modern inspections, it was discovered that there were 27 steel parts of the bridge that were severely corroded.
03:32This is not just speculation.
03:34This is according to the official report of the inspectors from Indian Railways.
03:39In theory, any of these parts could give way while the train is carrying many passengers.
03:45The bridge was closed only when severe corrosion became a direct threat to passenger safety.
03:52A new bridge was built nearby.
03:54The old bridge served for more than a century, just as the engineers had promised.
03:59And until the end, trains still passed over the 27 steel sections eaten by rust.
04:06The train schedule was never disrupted until it was finally closed.
04:10If you're not yet afraid of traveling along the Bay of Bengal, don't leave.
04:14Subscribe to Noal Polo Television because there are six more railways in this video that are even scarier than the
04:21first one.
04:23Let's go to Indonesia, to the island of Java.
04:27Over the Chikubang River, there's a bridge called the Chikubang Bridge.
04:31It reaches a height of 80 meters from the ground.
04:36Below it is a narrow river and a steep cliff surrounded by a green valley.
04:42On top, there's a narrow railway track and four large steel supports.
04:47Each of these supports weighs approximately 110 tons.
04:53The bridge was opened in 1906 during the Dutch administration in Indonesia.
04:59Its technology dates back to the early 20th century, and the metal used here is also from that era.
05:06All calculations were done on paper without any computers.
05:10Since then, several million people have ridden the trains that pass through here.
05:14There has been almost no extensive repair work done.
05:17The local drivers only have a short comment about it.
05:20When passing through Chikubang, you don't just rely on your eyes.
05:24You also depend on your hearing.
05:26Now, imagine the inside of the engineer's cab as he drives the train over this rumbling and rattling bridge.
05:33The speed is reduced to just 30 kilometers per hour, hour, because if it's any faster, the sound of the
05:39metal gets even louder.
05:41Every sound comes from the joints between the bridge's components.
05:44The vibrations reach all the way to the seat and can be felt up to your spine.
05:50The driver feels the bridge with his whole body, on his skin, face, the bones of his hands, and even
05:57his feet.
05:58He knows it's 80 meters down beneath him.
06:01And between the train's wheels and the deep cliff, the only thing separating them is the old bridge that keeps
06:07rattling.
06:07Under the bridge, normal life goes on in the valley.
06:12Children bathe in the river, women do the laundry, and men harvest rice.
06:17They are used to trains passing over their heads, 80 meters above the ground.
06:23None of them can remember a time when the bridge was completely closed for major repairs.
06:30For many years, engineers have been making reports about the condition of the bridge supports.
06:36The metal has deteriorated past its expected service life, but there is still no alternative route available.
06:43If the Chikubang bridge is closed, an entire industrial region will be cut off from the main railway line.
06:50So every day, the driver enters the cabin.
06:53He takes a deep breath and reduces the speed of the train.
06:56In Sanayon near the bridge, children count the trains like they count the days.
07:02By their reckoning, the bridge will never fall.
07:05But the adults say otherwise.
07:08They watch the shaking of the supports and shake their heads or look worried while keeping their eyes fixed on
07:14the bridge.
07:15The train slowly leaves toward the other side of the valley.
07:19The schedule is no longer delayed.
07:21The report is clear.
07:23From here, let's move from the tropical forest to a place where, during winter, a person could die from extreme
07:30cold in just an hour.
07:33In 1898, on the map of North America, a new place suddenly became the center of attention, Klondike.
07:41Thousands of men went there with only one thing in mind, gold.
07:46To reach the mines, they had to climb a mountain pass that the natives called the Place of Steps, and
07:54some thought of building a railway there.
07:57By the standards of that time, it seemed like a strange idea.
08:02The pass reaches almost 1,000 meters above sea level, on a route that is more than 30 kilometers long.
08:09The railway is narrow and winds along the edge of steep cliffs that are hundreds of meters high.
08:15Construction continued even during winter.
08:18The air temperature drops to below negative 40 degrees Celsius.
08:23Imagine a worker building a path for the railway on the edge of a cliff.
08:28He's hanging from a rope above the cliff.
08:30In one hand, he's holding a pickaxe, and in the other, a metal digging tool.
08:37His gloves have been wet for a long time, and he hasn't felt his fingers for hours.
08:43His job is to break the granite and make almost a meter of the path in a single day.
08:50Above him, there are other workers dropping rocks.
08:53He has no choice but to continue working, even though there's danger from those rocks.
09:00The company building the railway pays the workers very little.
09:08Many of them never even saw any of the gold, which was the reason they went there.
09:14According to the official count, 35 people died at the construction site, but the real
09:21number is said to be higher.
09:23When the railway opened, there was a large steel cantilever bridge on the route that was
09:2865 meters high.
09:30At that time, it was the highest cantilever bridge in the world.
09:35In 1982, the price of metals dropped, and the route was closed.
09:40It was unused for six years, and was eventually abandoned in the mountains.
09:45Many people thought back then that it would never be used again, but it was restored and
09:50repaired, and now trains pass through it once more, although only for tourists.
09:57Tourists take pictures of the beautiful scenery.
10:01Only a few remember that beneath these railways lie people without names.
10:07Would you dare to take this route if you knew the price paid to build it was so high?
10:13The train passes by the rocky cliffs that were once dug by workers with their own hands.
10:19The schedule is no longer delayed.
10:22From the Nagilong border, let's go to a place where the world itself seems alive.
10:28Japan?
10:29Kyushu Island?
10:31Here you can find Mount ASO, one of the largest active volcanoes in Japan.
10:36And at its foot, there's a railway that passes through a place unlike almost any other in
10:41the world.
10:42The Minami ASO Railway passes through an area where every few years the world reminds us that
10:48the ground is still moving.
10:51In 1928, engineers built the Daito Shirakawa Bridge here, a narrow steel bridge standing
10:5860 meters above the gorge.
11:01There weren't many additional supports or designs.
11:04Since then, it has continued to withstand tremors every time there's an earthquake, and it has
11:10stood for a long time because of the strength of its structure.
11:13Imagine an ordinary passenger car suddenly emerging onto an open section above the valley.
11:20Inside, there are students on their way home from nearby cities.
11:24Some are sleeping while others are looking at their cell phones when the train suddenly
11:28starts to shake slightly.
11:30This isn't just ordinary swaying.
11:33The entire metal structure is shaking.
11:36Passengers look up, and they can see the slope of the volcano on the side.
11:40Smoke rises from its peak.
11:42There's almost always smoke coming from Mount ASO, but when there's shaking, it can get
11:48darker.
11:48After the earthquake, the driver is not allowed to stop while the train is on the bridge.
11:54He needs to bring it to solid ground.
11:56It's written in the instructions.
11:57No matter how strong the earthquake or volcanic activity is, the engineers who have experienced
12:03this all tell the same story.
12:05On the bridge, it's like time stops.
12:07What would it feel like to be inside the train car at that very moment?
12:12In 2016, the railway was severely damaged by the earthquake.
12:17There were landslides and the railways were cut off in some areas.
12:22Repairs took seven long years.
12:25During that entire time, the route was completely closed.
12:28It was only in 2023 that trains started passing through this section again.
12:34Mount ASO will continue to be active as long as it keeps moving according to its natural
12:40processes.
12:41The train passes over a fault line that continues to move slowly.
12:45But according to the official record, the schedule is not affected.
12:49From the volcanoes of Japan, let's cross to the other side of the world, heading to the
12:56Andes of South America.
12:58In Ecuador, you can find the Guayaquil-Quito Railway, which stretches for about 465 kilometers.
13:05And there is a part of it that engineers have called a place where a train should not be
13:11able to pass.
13:12Above the town of Alausi rises a very steep wall of rock.
13:17The locals call it the Condor's Nest.
13:20It rises almost 2,700 meters above sea level.
13:25The slopes are nearly vertical.
13:28Eventually, this place became known by a more famous name, Devil's Nose.
13:33When the railway reached this place in 1908, the builders faced a huge problem.
13:39The train couldn't climb such a steep slope directly.
13:42The engine couldn't handle the incline.
13:44So, there was a solution that seems unusual even today.
13:48They built a zigzag path right on the mountain itself.
13:51The train moves forward until it reaches the end of the railway, stops, and then the switch
13:57is changed so it can go back to the next section of the track.
14:01In this way, it gradually climbs up the side of the mountain like stairs.
14:04There are ten big steps that need to be climbed.
14:07For the construction, thousands of workers from Jamaica and Puerto Rico were brought here
14:12because of the promise of jobs and income.
14:15Many of them were never able to return to their families.
14:19To build the railway, the workers were suspended by ropes over the cliffs while holding their tools.
14:26One person on each rope, one iron pick, and only a few rocks were broken each day.
14:33They dug into the rock at a very high part of the mountain where the air was thin and every
14:39movement was harder.
14:40Many died during the construction.
14:43Because the dense forest was below, there were times when the victims could not even be buried right away.
14:50In previous years, some passengers even rode on the roofs of the train cars because there weren't enough seats inside.
14:57This was only prohibited after many years.
15:00Before that, there were regular incidents of people falling from the train, resulting in the deaths of passengers.
15:08Now, this route is used more by tourists, but it still remains carved right into the side of the mountain.
15:15Both are granite.
15:17Both have a zigzag design and use the same kind of supports.
15:22All were made by people who lived many centuries ago.
15:25With modern engineering today, even with lasers and powerful drilling machines, it's not easy to repeat a project like this.
15:32Not because it's impossible, but because almost no company would take on a job like this,
15:38the train slowly climbs up the zigzag sections of the railway.
15:41It keeps running on a route that was built centuries ago.
15:45And everything you've heard so far seems like a simple adventure compared with what we're about to see next.
15:52Southeast Asia, on the border of present-day Myanmar and Thailand, surrounded by dense tropical jungle.
15:59Here you will find a railway that stretches 415 kilometers between the two places.
16:05Its name is simple, Death Railway or Railway of Death, and every word in that name is there for a
16:12reason.
16:12In 1942, the Empire of Japan was at war in the Pacific.
16:18They needed a fast route for supplies over land that would pass through jungles, rivers, and mountains.
16:24The decision was made in distant offices, far from the actual construction site.
16:30The order was clear.
16:32The railway had to be built no matter what the cost.
16:35More than 200,000 people were taken from various occupied territories to work on the construction.
16:42This included around 60,000 allied prisoners of war from different parts of the Pacific.
16:49The others were Asian forced laborers from various territories.
16:53This included the British, Australians, Dutch, Thai, Burmese, and Malay.
16:59In the camp documents, many of them no longer had names.
17:02Only numbers were listed.
17:04Along with their assigned camp, they were given a set amount of work that had to be completed each day.
17:09According to the orders of the officials, think of one of these people.
17:13There is no name on the list.
17:16Wearing a bamboo hat and tattered pants.
17:20It's morning at a camp by the Kwai River, and rice porridge is their breakfast.
17:24That's all the food they get before starting work.
17:27He walks to work barefoot because he hasn't had shoes for a long time.
17:31His job is to break and remove wet rocks in a single day,
17:36and to carry railway sleepers.
17:39But the tropical climate does not spare the weak.
17:43Malaria, dysentery, and hunger kill hundreds of workers every day.
17:48And the abuse inflicted on those who fail to meet their work quotas
17:52make it even harder for the survivors.
17:55At night night, he returns to the barracks if his feet can still carry him.
17:59If he can no longer walk, he will be left wherever he collapses.
18:03When morning comes, another worker will take his place.
18:07In about a year and a half, it is estimated that around 100,000 people lost their lives
18:13while building the railway in these forests.
18:16This means countless lives were lost for every section of the railway they built.
18:23After the war, parts of the railway were dismantled, but some sections are still in use today.
18:30Every day, modern trains pass through here carrying tourists and local residents.
18:36They look at the dense forest and take pictures of the bridge over the river,
18:40without even thinking about the dark history behind it.
18:44Those traveling on this railway today are passing through a place where so many lives were lost,
18:50and this raises a question that divides those who have heard this story.
18:55There is one side that believes the death railway should be turned entirely into a memorial
19:01and completely closed to tourists.
19:03On the other hand, there is a side that believes it should continue to be used
19:08because it is the only remaining reminder and voice of the people who were forgotten there.
19:13Write in the comments which of the two sides you agree with.
19:18And the 7th railway will take us to the modern era and to a crowd so large it's hard to
19:25imagine.
19:28Bangladesh is a country with many rivers and often experiences monsoons.
19:34There is a small town called Tongi near its capital, Dhaka.
19:39Once a year, it becomes the site of one of the largest peaceful gatherings of Muslims in the world.
19:46It is estimated that around 5 million Muslim pilgrims come to this small city in just a few days.
19:54This is even more than the combined population of many major capitals in Europe.
20:00And this huge number of people needs to be transported there by rail,
20:05on trains designed to carry fewer passengers.
20:09The trains are so crowded here that the real meaning of the word overcrowded seems to be lost.
20:15There are people riding on the roofs of the trains packed tightly together.
20:20Some are clinging to the sides, hanging on the ladders, standing between the train cars,
20:25and holding on to anything they can grab.
20:29Imagine one of these pilgrims.
20:31He is about 40 years old.
20:34His face is weathered by the sun and strong winds.
20:38He is standing on the roof of a passenger train speeding along the railway.
20:44Below him there are four more people.
20:46Beside him there are 12 fellow pilgrims.
20:50On the other side of the roof he saw a young boy who was no older than 15 years old.
20:57If the man lets go of the metal he is holding on to, he won't fall immediately.
21:04First, he would lose his balance because of the crowding.
21:08And when the train rounds a bend and lurches violently, he could fall off.
21:15Every year, people fall from the roofs and doors of trains during the Biswa Eidjtema.
21:23It's hard to know the exact number.
21:26The train arrives, the pilgrims get off, and their deaths are simply recorded as accidents.
21:32Would you really want to ride a train like this just to get to the place of prayer on time?
21:38For many years, the authorities have been trying to implement measures
21:43for safety, nets, barriers, and stricter monitoring on the roofs of the trains.
21:50But these measures are repeatedly bypassed because of people's strong desire to reach their destinations.
21:59Train passes by, slowly blaring and rumbling at every curve,
22:04carrying a huge number of people heading to their city.
22:07And the next day, another train will once again run along the same railway,
22:13with the same crowding on the rooftops.
22:16Seven railways, seven places on the map,
22:20each with a story where it seems the train shouldn't have survived.
22:23The memory of the people swept away by the massive wave in a tragic event that happened in 1964.
22:30The emptiness beneath the train wheels in a valley in Indonesia,
22:36where it seems the metal still remembers the engineers who worked during the colonial era.
22:41Granite carved by hand by people working on the steep slopes of the Andes in Ecuador.
22:48Smoke over a volcano in Japan that remains active and seems to never be silent.
22:54Bones of people who perished beneath the railway sleepers on the railway between Burma and Thailand,
23:01which is now frequented by tourists.
23:04And the roofs of trains in Bangladesh crowded with so many people.
23:09It's like the number of people in an average gathering.
23:13And behind all of this, there's something strange,
23:17and an almost indescribable feeling.
23:20These tracks seem like they shouldn't have survived.
23:23Not according to physics.
23:25Not according to logic.
23:27And not even to human conscience.
23:29But every morning, someone enters the driver's cabin of the train and takes control.
23:35Someone checks the pressure in the system.
23:37Someone gives the signal from the platform.
23:40And it all starts again.
23:42Because even though it seems like it shouldn't be able to bear the weight anymore,
23:45it still keeps running.
23:46The next time you hear that modern engineering can do almost anything,
23:52remember one thing.
23:54Some of the hardest things ever built on this planet were made by people who had no lasers
23:59and no modern computer programs for calculations.
24:04Their names have been forgotten.
24:06The names of the tools they used have been forgotten.
24:09The names of their leaders.
24:11And even their own birthdays.
24:12But the rails they laid down are still being used today.
24:17And on top of these, just like in the past hundred years,
24:21trains continue to travel along the Bay of Bengal.
24:25One by one, without rest, and without getting tired.
24:28And with them, trains continue to run on all seven railways
24:34where it seems like they shouldn't be there.
24:36They keep running, and they keep carrying people who have no idea
24:40the farthest from their path.
24:42This is not an exaggeration or drama.
24:46This is simply a description of what we've just witnessed.