It was built by the Gotthardbahn-Gesellschaft [de] (GB) and opened on 1 June 1897 as the approach from Lucerne to the Gotthard railway.

With the nationalisation of the Gotthardbahn on 1 May 1909, the line became the property of the Swiss Federal Railways (Schweizerische Bundesbahnen, SBB).

The line between Lucerne and Immensee was threatened with closure in 1994, with passenger traffic to be transferred to buses.

On the edges of the day and in the morning peak hour, the Voralpen Express trains run from Romanshorn only to Rapperswil or Herisau.

Between Brunnen or Arth-Goldau and Lucerne, the S3 services run at half-hourly intervals and serve all stops.