The company (Emmenthalbahn-Gesellschaft, spelt according to then current orthography) was established on 4 August 1872 and is based in Burgdorf.

The company's general meeting approved an agreement to merge with the Burgdorf-Thun-Bahn (Burgdorf-Thun Railway) in Langnau on 20 June 1942.

The EB opened the 18.23 kilometre-long section between Burgdorf and Obermatt junction on the Gümligen–Langnau line on the Bern–Lucerne railway on 12 May 1881.

The last, almost three kilometre-long section between Obermatt and Langnau has been operated since its opening over non-EB tracks.

The EBT gave it to the Verein Dampfbahn Bern (VDBB, a steam-railway society) in 1972 and thoroughly refurbished it until 1978.

During the First World War, shortages of coal forced heavy traffic restrictions to be imposed on steam-powered railway lines.

During the Second World War, the Bernese cantonal government planned the construction of the Swiss Central Airport Utzenstorf.

On 21 April 1952, there was a head-on collision at Obermatt junction between Emmenmatt and Langnau im Emmental between a freight train of the EBT hauled by locomotive Be 4/4 105 and locomotive Ae 3/6 II 10424 of the Swiss Federal Railways.

The driver of the freight train was killed, but his colleague of the SBB was able to escape by jumping from the engine.