The line opened in the autumn of 1904 to transport troops and
materiel to the naval base and Maizuru-Higashi Port during the
Russo-Japanese War, which commenced in February of that year. Although built by the Japanese Government, it was initially leased to the Bantsuru Railway Co, which opened the Ayabe – Fukuchiyama section of what is now the
Sanin Main Line the same year. The company was nationalised in 1907, the year the 2 km from Nishi-Maizuru to Maizuru Port opened. Passenger services operated on that branch between 1913 and 1924, and it closed in 1985. Nishi-Maizuru was also the junction for the 4 km to Naka-Maizuru which operated between 1919 and 1972. From the start of the revised timetable on 18 March 2023,
125 series trainsets began operation on the Maizuru Line. ==References==