It serves all trains west of Oslo Central Station and is owned by Bane NOR.

Both Drammen and Oslo were important ports serving Eastern Norway, and both had by the 1870s their own railway lines.

Due to the cheap and quick construction method propagated by NSB at the time, the Randsfjord Line was built in narrow gauge; the lines connecting to Oslo were on the other hand built in standard gauge, to ensure compatibility with the Swedish railway network.

Radical forces eventually succeeded in changing the tide of opinion, and Drammen politicians allowed the construction of the line.

This concluded the double track to Brakerøya in Drammen, and shortened the railway by 12,438 metres (40,807 ft).

The former terminus of Oslo West Station was closed, and has since been converted into the office of the Nobel Peace Prize.

The construction of the last section in the original plans, from Lysaker to Skøyen, was first postponed until after 2020, but in 2020, new planning started for a longer project extending all the way to Oslo Central Station, bypassing Skøyen to the north on the preferred route.