[7] It is the highest mainline railway line in Northern Europe,[8] crossing the Hardangervidda plateau at 1,237 metres (4,058 ft) above sea level.

The first documented proposal for building a railway between Norway's two largest cities was announced by Andreas Tanberg Gløersen on 24 August 1871 in Bergensposten.

On 13 January 1874, the Bergen city council started issuing stock for the Voss Line, to begin with 400,000 Norwegian speciedaler (NOK 1.6 million[as of?])

Many of the navvies settled on Vossebanen after construction, and started working for the Norwegian State Railways (NSB) on the operation of the line.

The construction was exceptionally challenging, taking place at high altitudes in a region without roads and with a climate that saw many metres of snow in the winter and temperatures far below freezing.

An official opening train attempted to cross part of the line to Gulsvik on 9 December 1907, but got stuck in heavy snow and had to return.

[25] On 25 November 1909 a train en route from Bergen rolled into Oslo Østbanestasjon, and two days later the railway was officially opened at Voss.

[28] [29][30] With Norway's abundance of hydroelectricity and the high cost of importing coal to run the steam locomotives, there was considerable economic benefit to be realised by electrifying the line.

In 1952 a new plan was launched by parliament to electrify 1,153 kilometres (716 mi) of railway, with the line from Voss to Hønefoss prioritized fourth.

In 2000 electric multiple units were put into service with the Class 73 tilting trains, branded as Signatur and capable of 210 kilometres per hour (130 mph).

In January 2016, Norwegian National Rail Administration had plans for doubling the Ultriken tunnel, but it was abolished at the end of that year.

It was to be constructed in a number of main contracts: the first was boring the single-bore 7.7 kilometres (4.8 mi)) tunnel, which began in January 2016, and was completed on 29 August 2017.

Large diesel-electric snowploughs were stationed at Finse, and tens of kilometers of snow sheds were built on the most vulnerable parts.

Especially the 22 kilometres (14 mi) part between Finse Station and Hallingskeid was a drain on resources, and heavy snowfall and drifts regularly closed the entire line.

A solution was proposed by NSB's director Robert Nordén in 1984, involving construction of a 10.5 kilometres (6.5 mi) tunnel between the two stations.

Hallingdal valley is used as a natural corridor further north-west, mostly on the left river bank, serving the larger settlements of Flå and Nesbyen.

Located in the valley of one of the two upper tributaries of Hallingdalselva, the Usteåne, the railway line runs alongside a number of smaller lakes to the culmination point near Finse.

Immediately after the highest station Finse, the more than 10 kilometer long Finsetunnel was built, which replaced the original open route at over 1200 meters above sea level.

At Høgheller junction, the new line merges back into the original road, which runs along the northern flank of the Moldåtal with numerous enclosures.

With the following Gravhals tunnel, more than five kilometers long, the mountain massif to the catchment area of the Vosso is pierced: Now the railway line, built partly high on the northern flanks of the valleys, uses the merging upper valleys of the Uppsetf, the Kleielva and the Raundalselva westwards until lake Vangsvatnet in Voss is reached.

Trollkona had become necessary due to the expansion of the European route E16 (main road connection between Oslo and Bergen) alongside the Bolstadfjord using partly the old railway line substructure.

Worth mentioning is the six kilometer long Hananipa tunnel between Vaksdal and Trengereid, which was put into operation in 1970 as line improvement.

The entire rolling stock is from 2019 consisting of Stadler FLIRT Electric multiple units after a process of which led to phasing out the old NSB Class 69.

The express trains offer both transport from villages along the line to either Bergen or Oslo, as well travel between Norway's two largest cities.

[65][66] Parts of the closed sections of Vossebanen, from Midttun to Garnes have been converted to a heritage railway—the Old Voss Line—that is operated with steam trains by the Norwegian Railway Club during the summer.

The railway has spectacular scenery and a vertical descent of 864 metres (2,835 ft) or 5.5% along the 20 kilometres (12 mi) route from Myrdal to Flåm.

[70] In 2002 the Norwegian National Rail Administration warned that lack of funding might lead to a closure of all long-distance passenger trains in Norway, including the Bergen Line.

[75] In January 2025, a contract was put out to tender for a project constructing a series of new rail and road tunnels near the western end of the line.

Starting 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) north-east of Bergen at Arna, the proposed route continues through a newly constructed station at Vaksdal, to finally rejoin the existing alignment at Stanghelle.

[79] Norsk Bane has launched the idea of building a common line from Oslo to Haukeli and then branching off to Bergen and Stavanger.