 The Hōshū Railway Co. opened the central section of the line in 1897 to haul freight, the company merging with the Kyushu Railway Co. in 1901, which extended the line to Kami-Mio in 1902.That company was nationalised in 1909, and the line extended to Shin-Iizuka in 1920 with passenger services to Funao introduced at that time.The Kyushu Industrial Railway Co. opened the Funao - Tagawa-Gotoji section in 1922 to service a cement plant.