The railway was built to serve the construction of the Kurobe dam for the Kansai Electric Power Company, which was completed in 1963; Kurotetsu was spun off from the power company in June 1971, but remains a wholly owned subsidiary.

At its terminus, the Main Line links to Kurobe Senyō Railway, which is not open to the general public.

As of 2006[update], the company operated 25 locomotives, 139 passenger carriages and 204 freight wagons.

Due to the large number of curves (well over 200) along the 20 kilometer route, sections of 10 meter rails are used instead of longer ones as would be used on a typical railroad.

Due to a bridge collapse during the 2024 Noto earthquake, all stations past Nekomata are closed as of November 2024.