The line was originally built in the 1970's to transport Sanyo Shinkansen trains from the Hakata terminal to a large train depot in Kasuga. At that time, Kasuga was a rural region and did not merit a train station of its own. By the late 1980's, however, the area had become a sprawling suburb of Fukuoka. JR decided to build a station adjacent to the depot, and inaugurated service in 1990 with retired 0 Series Shinkansen trains.
Although the line uses Shinkansen equipment, it is not considered a part of the Shinkansen network. This makes it one of only two standard gauge lines in the JR network that is not part of the Shinkansen (the other is the Kaikyo Line where it passes through the Seikan Tunnel).
The trip from Hakata to Hakata-Minami takes ten minutes and costs 290 yen.