Initially, two pairs of trains a day ran between Rostock and Hagenow with connections to services to Wismar and Güstrow.

In 1996, the line was duplicated and electrified as a German Unity Transport Project and upgraded to allow a top speed of 160 km/h.

The platforms at Schwerin Hauptbahnhof were extended and equipped with an electronic interlocking, from which the section from Hagenow Land to Bad Kleinen is controlled.

The line is served by Regional-Express trains on the Rostock–Hamburg route (branded as Hanse-Express) every two hours with some extra services in the peak.

Since then, the Kirch Jesar and Zachun have been served only irregularly by extra peak hour services on the RE 1 line.