Although some cars were added, many people living in the northern area in Nishinomiya City and Sanda City, in which a rapid increase in population was seen, asked that rapid trains be provided, and some rapid trains came on the scene after the privatization of JNR in 1989 (the section for the rapid train was only between Osaka and Sanda, which is the same as today).
その後は車両増結で対処したが、当時人口が急増していた西宮市北部地区や三田市の住民から快速列車の設定を希望する声が相次いだため、民営化後の1989年より快速が登場（快速の区間は現在と同じく、大阪～三田間のみ）。