The railway north of Tampere was initially planned to run from the western side of lake Näsijärvi through the northern parts of Satakunta, from where a branch line would be built via Kankaanpää to Pori.

A year later, work slowed down considerably due to lack of funds, but the section between Tampere and Kokemäki was finally opened for regular traffic in November 1894.

[1] Two years after the completion of the Tampere–Pori section, the Senate decided to extend the line further to Mäntyluoto by 21 kilometres (13 mi), which had been nominated by the State Winter Transport Committee as Finland's second wintertime port.

[2] In the early 1900s, a railway connection was also planned from Helsinki via Loimaa to Pori, in which case the junction station would have been located in Kokemäki, Peipohja or Riste.

On the other hand, the construction of a direct line between Helsinki and Kokemäki was considered important for the capital's food supply, but with bus traffic growing strongly in the 1930s, this plan was also abandoned.

[5] In October 2016, the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency and the city of Pori signed a letter of intent regarding the electrification the Mäntyluoto and Tahkoluoto sections of the line.

The Pori station was moved approximately 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) southeast from its original location during the construction of the Pori-Haapamäki railway line in the 1930s.