Rama VI Bridge ( th, สะพานพระราม 6, , ) is a railway

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

over the Chao Phraya River in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populatio ...

, in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

, connecting the districts Bang Sue and Bang Phlat. It is the first bridge to cross the Chao Phraya River and was initially both a

single-track railway A single-track railway is a railway where trains traveling in both directions share the same track. Single track is usually found on lesser-used rail lines, often branch lines, where the level of traffic is not high enough to justify the c ...

and road (two lanes) bridge. Construction started in December 1922, during the reign of

Vajiravudh Vajiravudh ( th, วชิราวุธ, , 1 January 188126 November 1925) was the sixth monarch of Siam under the Chakri dynasty as Rama VI. He ruled from 23 October 1910 until his death in 1925. King Vajiravudh is best known for his efforts ...

to link the

Northern Line The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs from North London to South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. The Northern line is unique on the Underground network in having two different routes through central London, two ...

with the Southern Line. Construction cost was 2,714,113.30

baht The baht (; th, บาท, ; sign: ฿; code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). The issuance of currency is the responsibility of the Bank of Thailand. SWIFT ranked the Thai baht as the 10th-most ...

and It was officially opened on 1 January 1927. Center of the bridge was torn on 7 February 1945, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, thus it was repaired in 1950-1953 by Dorman Long and Christiani & Nielsen and was officially reopened on 12 December 1953. Following the opening of the adjacent Rama VII Bridge in 1992 due to increase in traffic volumes, cars were diverted from Rama VI bridge. Another railway track was laid in place of the road completed in 1999, making it a railway-only bridge. The bridge is located 13 km from Bangkok railway station, between Bang Son railway station and Bang Bamru railway station. The bridge has 5 spans, all of the through-truss design: 77, 83, 120, 83 and 77 metres respectively, for a total length of 441 metres. It is thus the longest railway bridge in Thailand, almost 110 metres longer than its nearest rival, the 132 metre River Kwai bridge near

Kanchanaburi Kanchanaburi ( th, กาญจนบุรี, ) is a town municipality (''thesaban mueang'') in the west of Thailand and part of Kanchanaburi Province. In 2006 it had a population of 31,327. That number was reduced to 25,651 in 2017. The town ...

References

Bridges in Bangkok Bridges completed in 1926 Crossings of the Chao Phraya River Railway bridges in Thailand Unregistered ancient monuments in Bangkok {{Bangkok-stub