Originally, the Maizuru Line was a joint plan between the Hankaku Railway Company and the Kyoto Railway Company but with the Russo-Japanese War looming, the Japanese government needed to bring the schedule forward, so the government took over and opened the line, which ran from Fukuchiyama Station to Shin-Maizuru Station (present day Higashi-Maizuru Station) via Ayabe Station, and branch lines, in 1904 and then leased it to the Hankaku Railway Company.
元は阪鶴鉄道・京都鉄道が計画していた路線だが、日露戦争を控え着工を急ぐ必要性から1904年に官設で福知山～綾部～新舞鶴（現在の東舞鶴）間と支線が開通、阪鶴鉄道に貸与されて開業した。