Officially, the name Yokosuka Line is assigned to the 23.9 km (14.9 mi) segment between Ōfuna and Kurihama stations, but the entire route is commonly referred to as the Yokosuka Line by JR East for passenger service.

(Due to shorter platform length at stations south of Zushi, only 11-car trains are operated to Kurihama.)

After the survey from July to December 1887, the construction of the railway between Ōfuna and Yokosuka started in January 1888 and completed in June 1889 spending 408,480 yen in total.

[3] The Hinkaku Line (品鶴線, Hinkaku-sen) was originally built to divert freight traffic from the busy Tōkaidō Main Line, providing an alternate route between Tokyo and Tsurumi.

After a 1967 explosion, freight trains were banned from portions of the central Tokyo rail network, providing the impetus for the construction of the orbital Musashino Line.

This left a substantial chunk of the double-tracked, mostly grade-separated Hinkaku Line disused.