Services on the 116.0 km (72.1 mi) section of the line beyond Mukawa Station were suspended indefinitely since January 2015 due to storm damage.

[2] The line was extended from Shizunai to Hidaka-Mitsuishi on 15 December 1933, to Urakawa on 24 October 1935, and to Samani on 10 August 1937.

In December 2016, JR Hokkaido announced that it had abandoned plans to reopen the suspended section of the line, and was in discussion with the local governments involved.

[1] Due to low ridership and very high repair costs, including coastal defences between Atsuga and Ōkaribe, JR Hokkaido held several meetings with the 7 towns along the suspended segment of the line, suggesting to abandon plans to restore the line and replace it with a bus service.

In September 2020, after 5 years of meetings and discussions, many of which involved extensive arguments and disagreements, all 7 towns eventually agreed with JR Hokkaido to abandon the line's damaged section and replace it with a bus service.