joint decision was made to build a bridge with metal spans on stone abutments, called the "Friendship Bridge". It was commissioned on August 9, 1959. There is a break of gauge between the two railroads since the Russian railroad system is and the North Korean railroad system is . This line is currently little used, with only 10,000 passengers being carried in 2005. In 1988, the two-way cargo traffic exceeded 5 million tons annually, but by 2001 the total volume had dropped to only 144,000 tons. In 1989, 830,000 tons of freight passed through the border from Russia (Khasan) to North Korea (Tumangang). By 1998 this number stood at 150,000 tons, and by 2001, only 92,000 tons of freight crossed the border, according to the Far East customs office. The Korean portion from Tumangang to the port of Rajin was destroyed in the 1950s. Throughout the 1990s, the state of the railroad deteriorated sharply due to the economic crisis in Russia. By 1996, North Korea owed $20 million to the Russian railway operator, Russian Railways. This debt had accumulated over the previous 5 years as North Korea seized and used Russian train cars that were in North Korea. The situation led to the Ministry of Railways of Russia issuing a directive forbidding the passage of trains from Khasan to North Korea, effectively isolating North Korea from the Russian market. The crisis was resolved in September 1996, when North Korea agreed to pay $26 million of the debt. Reconstruction At the beginning of the 21st century the situation improved, and capital investments were made to improve and modernize the railway system in the area. The rail station got a new roof in 2002, and the railroad bed was raised, using crushed stones, in 2002/3. In 2001, Russian Railways laid a fiber optic link from Ussuriysk to Khasan railway station, which made it possible to connect Khasan to the unified data system of the trains in the Far East. In April 2008, Russia and North Korea signed a long-awaited deal to rebuild the railway line to North Korea. Under the deal, the two countries will renovate the rail line from Russia's border town of Khasan to the North Korean port of Rajin, where sea cargo to and from North Korea could be unloaded. To implement the project, the Russian Railways Trading House and the Port of Rajin set up a joint venture.