A fleet of six new 305 series six-car electric multiple unit (EMU) commuter trains was introduced on the Chikuhi Line from February 2015.

[5] The Kita-Kyushu Railway opened the Fukuyoshi to Hamasaki section in 1923, extending it west to Higashi-Karatsu (situated on the east bank of the Matsuura River, opposite the Karatsu Line on the west bank) by 1925 and east to Hakata by 1926.

The company was nationalised in 1937 after which Japanese Government Railways (JGR) designated the track as the Chikuhi Line.

[6] In 1983, the Hakata to Meinohama section was closed and replaced by a link to the Fukuoka City Subway Airport Line.

A new line from Nijinomatsubara to Karatsu opened (including a new station called Higashi-Karatsu, situated about 1.5 km (0.93 mi) southeast of the original station of that name) and the entire section was electrified at 1,500 V DC to allow through running to Fukuoka via the subway.