The line was opened in stages to Tarago (January 1884), Bungendore (March 1885), Queanbeyan (September 1887), Michelago (December 1887), Cooma (May 1889), Nimmitabel (April 1912) and Bombala (November 1921).

[6] During construction of the railway from Michelago to Cooma, much of the major works in this section—four bridges, a tunnel and some cuttings and high embankments—lay between Michelego station and the far side of the Bredbo River.

[10] The Cooma railway line, as it was known at the time, is nominated in the description of the Australian Capital Territory in the Second Schedule of the Seat of Government Acceptance Act 1909.

[16] A bridge carrying the line over the Numeralla River at Chakola was declared unsafe so freight services south of Queanbeyan ceased in May 1989.

[18] The line between Joppa Junction Goulburn and Queanbeyan remains open, and is served by three daily NSW TrainLink Xplorer services in each direction operating between Sydney and Canberra.

[21] From 6 March 2015, a joint venture between Espee Railroad Services (owned by the ACT division of the Australian Railway Historical Society) and local company Access Recycling began operating weekly freight trains loaded with scrap metal from Canberra to Port Botany via the Canberra branch and Bombala line.

The 49 kilometre section between Queanbeyan and Michelago was also re-opened in April 1993 for heritage tourist operation by the ACT Division of the Australian Railway Historical Society.

[25] This freight though has now ceased also, with a stop block being placed at Queanbeyan, at 321.72 km (199.91 mi), clear of Frame F crossover, signifying the current operational end of the Bombala line.

This came to fruition starting in 1998, with over 17 kilometres (11 mi) of railway track reopened and restored CPH railmotors operated between Cooma and Chakola.

[28][29][30] Since January 2014, train movements though are suspended on this section of track while the CMR works towards compliance with the requirements of Rail Safety National Law.

It is highly unlikely that a tourist train service will be instituted though, with vast tracts of rail missing between Bombala and the preceding station at Bukalong siding.

Originally designed for the area's farmers to move their cattle, sheep and produce, this section seems to have fallen victim to the modern age.

[36][37] The feasibility study (May 2020) concluded that a Canberra to Eden rail line was not viable, due to high costs and low returns, with a benefit-cost ratio of 0.1.

[42] The disused line south of Cooma is extensively featured within a 30-minute piece of digital art entitled "En Route" by Sue Healey.