During the June–September summer tourist season, RegioJet trains run daily/ 3 times weekly between Split (as M604 terminus) and Prague, Bratislava, Budapest,[13] and starting from 2022, Krakow.

The quarters for workers, water supply, connecting roads, quarries and sawmills had to be constructed as well to support the building operations.

At the beginning of 1915, the mobilisation for the war effort and the difficulties facing the home front in Austria-Hungary affected the supply of material and labor force for the construction.

The chaos surrounding the dissolution of Austria-Hungary and the end of the war paused the construction, while pillaging, theft, and harassment of Hungarian and Austrian staff by Lika natives even reversed some progress.

[22] During the German and Italian occupation of Yugoslavia, occupying forces and the pro-Axis fascist authorities of the puppet Independent State of Croatia could not rely on the Lika railway for cargo, passenger nor military transport from Croatia's north to the south as the sparsely populated and forested terrain was especially prone to attacks, ambushes and sabotages by partisans.

[25] After the first unsuccessful raid on Čupkovići viaduct near Oton-Bender on Knin-Gračac section of the railway in the night of May 14/15 1942, when the partisan forces under the command of Ivan Rukavina were pushed back by Italian army Armoured train and the Chetniks,[26] on March 15, 1943, partisan forces of the First Croatian Corps captured the viaduct and blew it up.

[27] After the liberation of the country and the war's end, Yugoslav Railways managed to begin regular services on Lika line in 1946.

Amidst great celebrations, the first train passed the newly rebuilt Čupkovići viaduct near Plavno on Workers' Day 1946, carrying the prime minister of Croatia Vladimir Bakarić and other functioneers.

In December 1948, 50 km shorter Una railway (Bihać-Knin) was opened as an alternative rail link between Croatia's north and south.

Collision left 21 dead and 19 injured; station master Luka Javorina (1922-1949) was tried, convicted, and executed by a firing squad, while three other railway workers received prison sentences.

[35] In December 1962, extremely strong bora wind blew an empty cargo train off Cupkovica viaduct near Oton, killing 4 crew members.

As the Croatian Railways were not in position to guarantee safety, they formally and officially closed the line north from Drniš and south from Gračac on August 7.

[41] As the breakaway Republic of Serb Krajina controlled most of the line between the fall of 1991 and August 1995, Croatian Railways organized passenger services only north of Josipdol connecting it to Ogulin & Zagreb/Rijeka[42] and south of Perković (Split-Perković, branching off to Šibenik).

Some minor local passenger traffic was organised by separatist authorities between Drniš, Knin and Gračac between 1991 and 1994, plagued by severe fuel shortages and rationing.

Due to the mass exodus of Serb population from the area, the demand for local and regional passenger transportation dwindled.

On August 21, 2008, a RegioSwinger derailed in a curve near Cerovac, while in October 2008, a train of the same type hit a cow herd on the tracks near Zrmanja.

[50] In 2014, Croatian Railways discontinued the night train between Zagreb and Split save for the summer operations, citing economic reasons.