Plans existed to link the prefectural capital of Aomori with the northern tip of the Tsugaru Peninsula from the time of the Meiji period Railway Construction Act.

These plans were postponed by the outbreak of World War II, and were only resumed in the 1950s under the Japanese National Railways (JNR).

With the privatization of the JNR on April 1, 1987, the line came under the operational control of JR East.

In 1988 the Aomori–Shin Naka-Oguni Signal Base section was electrified in conjunction with the opening of the Seikan Tunnel and associated Tsugaru-Kaikyō Line.

The affected town of Imabetsu agreed to transition access to bus service in May 2024.