[3][4] The line opened in 1912 and links the towns of Esslingen and Forch to Rehalp, an outer suburb of the city of Zürich.

As built, the line from the Zürich city boundary to Esslingen was a single track tramway, largely mixed in with road traffic.

In 1950 it was proposed that the line should be replaced by buses, and a two-week test bus operation was undertaken with moderate success.

[5] In 1970, a new depot and station was built at Forch, together with a new section of line and underpass under the new main road.

[6] Between Stadelhofen and Rehalp, the Forchbahn trains use the tracks of the tram system, owned by the Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich (VBZ), which are electrified at 600 V DC and are largely situated in the street.

The line surfaces just before entering Neue Forch station, where it resumes its roadside alignment.

[4][7] The line uses the following rolling stock: Trailer car, B 119 originally built 1930 for Lausanne Tramways, was preserved in the Zürich Tram Museum from 2007 until 2021.

[17] In spring 2021 it was regauged for 760 mm (2 ft 5+15⁄16 in) Bosnian gauge and is used for heritage trains on the Agnita railway line in Romania.

[19] In 2021, according to a news item in the madegassian paper «La Vérité», using the trailer cars for a jungle express in the south east of the island was proposed.