Although the time schedule of this train dates back to the period when the entire portion of the Sanin Main Line opened (it was split during wartime), it became the longest-distance train in Japan when the local train running from Osaka Station to Niigata Station, then the train running the longest distance, was abolished through the Japan National Railway's schedule revision of 1972, which was implemented as part of a series of revisions made during the period of 1961 to 1975.
このため、本列車のダイヤグラム鉄道におけるダイヤ自体は山陰線全通時にまでさかのぼる（戦時中は分断）が、日本最長となったのは、それまで最長だった大阪駅発新潟駅行きの普通列車が廃止された1961年-1975年の国鉄ダイヤ改正1972年（昭和47年）であった。