The line was opened in 1894 and was operated by electric traction from the start, as the first electrified standard-gauge railway in Switzerland.

The modernisation will also provide accessible stations and increase capacity for goods traffic.

The estimated costs of the project are 100 million Swiss Francs and direct trains to Lausanne are expected to begin running in 2026.

[1][3][4] To ease the transition and after the existing railcars faced technical defects, in 2022 Travys acquired two GT8-100C/2S tram-train vehicles from Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft.

These previously operated on the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn and are equipped with both 750 V DC and 15 kV AC electrification.