Kintetsu--which considered that it would be preferable to operate the new line through integration with the company's other lines because the new line was originally constructed for the purpose of bypassing the Nara Line--bought out Higashi-Osaka Ikoma Railway in April of 1986 when the construction work was nearly complete, and then the line between Nagata and Ikoma stations started operating on October 1 of the same year as the Higashi-Osaka Line of Kintetsu.
奈良線のバイパスとして建設した経緯から一体的に経営することが望ましいと考えた近鉄は、工事がほぼ完了した1986年4月に東大阪生駒電鉄を吸収合併し、同年10月1日に長田～生駒間が近鉄東大阪線として開業した。