The Hokuriku Main Line (Japanese: 北陸本線, romanized: Hokuriku-honsen) is a 45.9-kilometer (28.5 mi) railway line owned by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) connecting Maibara Station in Maibara, Shiga, with Tsuruga Station in Tsuruga, Fukui.

A further extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen from Kanazawa to Tsuruga opened on 16 March 2024, resulting in this section of the Hokuriku Main Line being transferred from JR West to the third-sector companies Hapi-Line Fukui and the IR Ishikawa Railway.

Obama Line Hapi-Line Fukui Line Effective the 16 March 2024 timetable revision, the section between Kanazawa and Daishoji was transferred to the IR Ishikawa Railway,[3] while the section between Tsuruga and Daishoji was spun off to a new company, Hapi-Line Fukui, on the same day.

The entire line was built by the Japanese Government Railway, with the first section opened being from Nagahama, on the shore of Lake Biwa to Tsuruga in 1882.

At the northeastern end, the Naoetsu to Nadachi section opened in 1911, and was extended to Itoigawa the following year.

The second major deviation, between Tsuruga and Imajo opened in 1962 as a dual track line including the 13,870 m (45,510 ft) Hokuriku tunnel, providing a significantly straighter and faster line as well as avoiding numerous coastal sections vulnerable to disruption during severe weather events.

As Maibara was electrified at 1,500 V DC, steam locomotives hauled trains over the 5 km (3.1 mi) non-electrified section until it was electrified (at 1,500 V DC, with dual-voltage EMUs being used) in 1962, the year the 20 kV AC electrification was extended to Fukui, extending progressively to Kanazawa (in 1963), Toyama (in 1964), and Itoigawa (in 1965).

In 1929, the line was regauged to 1,067 mm, electrified and reopened by the Hakusen Electric Railway, but it was declared bankrupt the following year.

With the opening of the Hokuriku Shinkansen, control of local passenger services on the sections of the Hokuriku Main Line running through Ishikawa, Toyama, and Niigata prefectures was transferred to the following three third-sector operating companies owned by the respective prefectures.