Bernese State Railway

The BSB was established in 1861 from the bankrupt estate of the Swiss East–West Railway (Schweizerische Ostwestbahn, OWB), which began the construction of the La Neuveville–Biel/Bienne–Bern–Gümligen–Langnau–Lucerne–Zug–Zürich line despite a lack of funds.

The rail network of the BSB initially consisted only of the La Neuveville–Biel/Bienne line that was opened by the OWB, which was leased to the Swiss Central Railway (Schweizerische Centralbahn, SCB) in 1864.

In order for the BSB to establish its own business, it procured 12 locomotives, 39 passenger cars and 130 freight wagons in 1864.

In 1875, the newly opened Bern-Lucerne Railway (Bern-Luzern-Bahn, BLB) acquired the Gümligen–Langnau branch line for CHF 7.34 million.

Due to excessive construction costs, however, the BLB became bankrupt in 1876 and was bought at auction by the canton of Bern for CHF 8.5 million in 1877.