Chinese Eastern Railway Liaodong from China in 1898. Officially, traffic on the line started in November 1901, but regular passenger traffic from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok across the Trans-Siberian railway did not commence until July 1903. In 1898, construction of a 550-mile (880 km) spur line, most of which later formed the South Manchuria Railway, began at Harbin, leading southwards through Eastern Manchuria, along the Liaodong Peninsula, to the ice-free deep-water port at Lüshun, which Russia was fortifying and developing into a first-class strategic naval base and marine coaling station for its Far East Fleet and Merchant Marine. This town was known in
Far Eastern Railway is hoping to implement the idea of constructing the Trans-Korean Main Line and then connect it with the Trans-Siberian Railway one day. Indeed, further development of the Khasan—Tumangang border crossing may provide additional 10 million tonnes of cargo per year, according to some forecasts, let alone a potential two-way traffic of up to 200,000 cargo containers per year from the port of Busan. The Grodekovo—Suifenhe City border crossing in Primorsky Krai also plays an important role in the Russo-Chinese economic relations. The freight traffic between the two countries increases by one million tonnes per year. Strong ties with the ports