Gonō Line

The railway grew from two separate lines built from opposite ends and joined only decades later. At the Akita end, the Japanese Government Railways opened the first section, between Noshiro (the original station, later renamed Hataori) and the Noshiromachi freight depot, on 1 July 1908; passenger service between Noshiro and Noshiromachi began on 15 October 1908. When the national railway adopted its line-naming scheme on 12 October 1909, this short stretch was designated the Noshiro Line. The following month, on 1 November 1909, the original Noshiro Station was renamed Hataori and Noshiromachi Station became the second Noshiro Station.

From this base the Noshiro Line was pushed northward along the coast in stages: to Tsubaki on 26 April 1926, on to Iwadate on 24 November 1926, to Ōmagoshi on 26 December 1930, and to Mutsu-Iwasaki on 14 October 1932. Each extension carried the line further along the rugged Sea of Japan shoreline that gives the route its character today.

The Aomori end began as a private venture. The Mutsu Railway opened a line between Kawabe and Goshogawara on 25 September 1918. The Railway Ministry then built onward from Goshogawara to Mutsu-Morita as the Goshogawara Line, opening on 21 October 1924, and extended it to Ajigasawa on 15 May 1925. On 1 June 1927 the Mutsu Railway was bought out and absorbed into the Goshogawara Line, bringing the whole Aomori-side route under state ownership.

Construction then continued down the coast from Ajigasawa: to Mutsu-Akaishi on 26 November 1929, to Kita-Kanegasawa on 20 October 1931, to Ōdose on 5 November 1933, and to Fukaura on 13 December 1934. Gasoline railcar operation began on 15 April 1935. The two lines finally met when the section between Mutsu-Iwasaki and Fukaura opened on 30 July 1936; with that opening the route was completed end to end and the combined line was renamed the Gonō Line, the name it still carries. The name combines characters from Goshogawara and Noshiro, the two principal towns the line connected.

The line has been disrupted several times by natural disasters along its exposed coastal alignment. The 1983 Sea of Japan earthquake on 26 May 1983 forced a suspension of services, with the various sections reopening between late May and mid-June of that year. Heavy rain has repeatedly cut the line: on 6 August 2014 the trackbed embankment between Iwadate and Ōmagoshi was washed out, services between Noshiro and Hirosaki were suspended after heavy rain on 9 August 2022, and the Higashi-Noshiro to Ajigasawa section was suspended for a full day after heavy rain on 15 July 2023.

Under Japanese National Railways the line gained centralised traffic control in 1986, and on 1 April 1987, with the privatisation of JNR, the Gonō Line passed to JR East, where it is managed by the company's Akita branch. The line's best-known service is the "Resort Shirakami," a sightseeing train introduced on 1 April 1997 that runs along the Gonō Line between Akita and Aomori or Hirosaki via Higashi-Noshiro, taking in the coastal scenery and the Shirakami-Sanchi area for which it is named. The Resort Shirakami operates as three differently equipped sets - the Aoike, Kumagera and Buna formations - of which the Aoike and Buna sets use HB-E300 series hybrid diesel railcars and the Kumagera set uses KiHa 40 series cars. Ordinary services are worked by diesel railcars; the KiHa 40 and KiHa 48 type cars ended their regular Gonō Line duties in 2021, and the GV-E400 series, which entered revenue service from 12 December 2020, now operates alongside the HB-E300 series and the KiHa 40 series used on the Resort Shirakami.

• 19081 July: the Japanese Government Railways open the first section, Noshiro (original) to the Noshiromachi freight depot. Passenger service between Noshiro and Noshiromachi begins on 15 October.
• 190912 October: under the national railway's line-naming scheme, the line is designated the Noshiro Line. On 1 November, the original Noshiro Station is renamed Hataori and Noshiromachi Station becomes the second Noshiro Station.
• 191825 September: the private Mutsu Railway opens its line between Kawabe and Goshogawara at the Aomori end.
• 192421 October: the Railway Ministry opens Goshogawara to Mutsu-Morita as the Goshogawara Line.
• 192515 May: the Goshogawara Line is extended from Mutsu-Morita to Ajigasawa.
• 192626 April: the Noshiro Line is extended to Tsubaki; on 24 November it is extended on to Iwadate.
• 19271 June: the Mutsu Railway is bought out and absorbed into the Goshogawara Line, bringing the whole Aomori-side route into state ownership.
• 192926 November: the Goshogawara Line is extended from Ajigasawa to Mutsu-Akaishi.
• 193026 December: the Noshiro Line is extended from Iwadate to Ōmagoshi.
• 193120 October: the Goshogawara Line is extended from Mutsu-Akaishi to Kita-Kanegasawa.
• 193214 October: the Noshiro Line is extended from Ōmagoshi to Mutsu-Iwasaki.
• 19335 November: the Goshogawara Line is extended from Kita-Kanegasawa to Ōdose.
• 193413 December: the Goshogawara Line is extended from Ōdose to Fukaura.
• 193515 April: gasoline railcar operation begins.
• 193630 July: the Mutsu-Iwasaki to Fukaura section opens, completing the route end to end; the combined line is renamed the Gonō Line.
• 198326 May: the Sea of Japan earthquake forces a suspension of services; the sections reopen in stages between late May and mid-June.
• 1986A centralised traffic control (CTC) system is installed.
• 19871 April: with the privatisation of Japanese National Railways, the Gonō Line passes to JR East (Akita branch).
• 19971 April: the "Resort Shirakami" sightseeing service begins operating along the line between Akita and Aomori/Hirosaki.
• 202012 December: the GV-E400 series diesel railcar enters revenue service on the line.
• 2021The KiHa 40 and KiHa 48 type railcars end their regular service on the line.