This line was originally planned by the privately owned Chosen Railway as an extension of its Chungbuk Line; however, the end of Japanese rule in Korea led to this plan being abandoned for many years. In 1949, the Economic Cooperation Administration, the United States government agency administering the Marshall Plan, also launched a plan to revive South Korea's economy, which included the construction of new railway lines. One new line under the plan was a line from Jecheon to the coal mines around Yeongwol and Hambaek to the east. Construction started in August 1949, but was interrupted by the Korean War in 1950, work resumed in October 1952. The Jecheon–Yeongwol section, with an original length of , went into service as the Yeongwol Line on December 30, 1955. On March 9, 1957, the line was extended by to Hambaek, and was renamed the Hambaek Line.