Construction of the section between Tangshan and Tianjin began in 1881 as the Kaiping Tramway.

The railway operated under or was known by several names, including: Under the late Qing and during the early Republic, it was administered by and provided much of the revenue for the Ministry of Posts and Communications.

The section from Shenyang to Harbin used to be a part of the South Manchuria branch of the Chinese Eastern Railway built by the Russian Empire from 1898 to 1902.

Later, the section from Changchun to Shenyang became part of the Japanese-owned South Manchuria Railway.

In the Japanese-occupied territory under the authority of the collaborationist Provisional Government of the Republic of China, a new company was set up to manage railways and bus transportation in northern China (excluding the puppet states of Manchukuo and Mengjiang).