The railway line was opened on 28 December 1865 by the Gößnitz-Gera Railway Company (German: Gößnitz-Geraer Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft) to connect the rising industrial centre of Gera (which then had about 16,000 inhabitants) to the West Saxon industrial district.

The deviation consisted of an embankment built with spoil from the mine and a 196-metre-long tunnel, which allows single-track operation only.

The embankment built during the relocation of the line through the Gessen valley was removed before the 2007 Federal Garden Show and replaced by a steel arch bridge.

In addition a Regional-Express from Weimar to Glauchau operates on the line on weekends at two hourly intervals.

The Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan mentions upgrading the line as an "additional requirement".