The railway was built by a British company to transport mineral and fruit (primarily figs) from the Aydın plain to the Port of İzmir to be exported.

The main goal of the ORC was to build a line to Aydın, however once the railway got concessions to extend their mainline, they quickly started to dominate the rail industry in İzmir.

However, construction time and cost were underestimated, the estimated initial capital of £1.2 million proved too small and the opening to Aydın had to be delayed until 1866.

On the other hand the CFOA which had secured railway concession in Afyon and Konya lobbied the Ottomans against further extension of the ORC[citation needed].

Because of poor Ottoman planning[citation needed], the ORC could play no role at integrating various large city such as Izmir with Konya.