Kintetsu obtained the licenses and patents concerned with constructing a line between Nagata and Ikoma stations in 1977, immediately established Higashi-Osaka Ikoma Railway, its wholly owned subsidiary, and transferred the licenses and patents to the new company so that it could execute the construction work; then, in 1979, the work started as that for constructing the p-line of the Japan Railway Construction Public Corporation (JRCC) (currently the Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency (JRTT)).
近鉄は1977年に長田～生駒間の免・特許を取得し、すぐに全額出資子会社の東大阪生駒電鉄を設立して免・特許を譲渡した後に工事に充て、1979年に日本鉄道建設公団（現・鉄道建設・運輸施設整備支援機構）のP線として工事が開始された。