Based on initial surveys, in 1885 the Queensland Government planned to construct a railway line to Samford with the intention of extending it to Gympie.

The line was duplicated to Mitchelton in 1953, and the first automatic level crossing boom gates in Queensland were installed at Wilston Road, Newmarket in 1954.

[5] The line was closed beyond Ferny Grove after 30 June 1955 after the freight traffic was lost to road transport.

Typical service frequency on the Ferny Grove Line is four trains per hour (every 15 minutes) on weekdays and two trains per hour (every 30 minutes) at night and on weekends, increasing to 8 trains per hour (every 7.5 minutes) during weekday peak times for faster travel times for commuters working in the Brisbane central business district.

The typical travel time between Ferny Grove and Brisbane City is approximately 31 minutes (to Central).