The route is owned and operated by Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) and is mainly used by the border station in St. Margrethen.

Vorarlberger Bahn) opened the cross-border line between Austria-Hungary and Switzerland on 23 November 1872.

Between 2010 and 2013, the Alpine Rhine bridge was replaced by a new one and the adjacent Lustenau Markt station was suspended.

East of Lauterach Unterfeld station, it connects to the Vorarlberg railway line in both northward and southward direction via two connectors.

As of the December 2023 timetable change,[update] local passenger service with intermediate calls en route is provided by the S3, which operates every half-hour between St. Margrethen and Bregenz, and R5 of Vorarlberg S-Bahn.