[1][2][3] The section now in operation of the Kabe Line was originally constructed by a private company and later purchased by Japanese Government Railways.

Simultaneously, some station names were changed as follows: The line voltage was raised from 750 V to 1,500 V (JNR standard) on 23 April 1962.

After JR West took over the line in 1987, wanman driver-only operation was introduced on the Kabe – Sandankyō section.

This will be the first such reopening by a JR Group company since the privatization of Japanese National Railways (JNR).

[4] Operation was scheduled to resume from fiscal 2015;[5] the two new stations at Kōdo-Homachigawa and Aki-Kameyama finally opened on 4 March 2017.