the line was originally constructed as a part of the horonai railway, the first railway in hokkaidō, and began operations in 1880. like many other meiji period railroad enterprises, the line uses gauge track over its 2.8 km route, in order to lower the cost of the original project. though it was originally intended to extend from the seashore to the colliery at temari-mura kayanuma, this was deemed inefficient, as ships could do the same work. the horonai railway was sold to the hokkaidō colliery and railway company in 1889, and by 1906 the temiya line had come under government control, officially inaugurated under that name three years later. it carried both cargo and passengers, for nearly a century. elements of service in the area, on the temiya line and other related lines, were discontinued in 1962, and the line formally closed in 1985.