A work of high utility and guaranteed success.In the second half of the 19th century, the inhabitants of Garda, Costermano, Bardolino, and Affi had repeatedly expressed interest in a direct rail link with the provincial capital, Verona, since the Brenner line was inconvenient for them as it was located at the bottom of the Adige Valley.

[2][3] In October 1886, the "Società Anonima per la Ferrovia Verona-Caprino-Garda" (FVCG) was established, with headquarters in Milan and management in Verona, in order to raise the funds for construction and operation: the company had a share capital of 2,500,000 lire and was chaired by banker Alberto Vonwiller, while Achille Levi was vice-president; among the directors were Serafini, Camis and Luzzato.

The following year, expropriations were started and there was some controversy between Società Anonima and the municipality of Verona over the placement of the head station: the former wanted to place it in the gardens of Porta San Giorgio, while the latter was not willing to create problems for the inhabitants of the area and users of the postal road to Tyrol, which would be cut by the rails in those vicinities.

The issue resulted in legal action, followed with interest by the local press, which led to the municipality obtaining a victory at least economically,[5] despite which the station was placed in San Giorgio and the line between Caprino and Verona was inaugurated on August 3, 1889.

On its first journey the train stopped at each station, where it welcomed on board the mayor of the corresponding municipality, and on arrival in Caprino, accompanied by many people also from the mountain towns, the official lunch was held.

It was necessary to wait for the establishment of a new promoter committee[note 6] to resolve the issue and urge the start of work: a new convention was signed with the government, which was approved by Royal Decree No.

[9] In 1910 the FVCG granted the railway to the Società Veneta per la Costruzione e l'Esercizio di Ferrovie Secondarie Italiane, which kept the line in operation during World War I, when due to wartime requirements civilian runs were almost suppressed in favor of military transport.

Severe damage to the line's infrastructure occurred on April 25, 1945, at the end of the German occupation, when soldiers, by then on the run, undermined and blew up the Sega bridge, which was rebuilt the following year with reinforced concrete arches at an expense of 29,600,000 lire totally borne by the state.

[17] In 1948 the SAER purchased ALn 556 railcars from the State Railways, which were used for passenger transport: the new rolling stock exposed all the limitations of the old equipment, which was incapable of sustaining increases in speed.

[19] And the day of farewell came; a sad, gray morning in which only the slow flicker of gently falling snow seemed to want to bid him farewell.In the first half of the 1950s, an economic study of Verona's public transportation was commissioned that led to the outline of a desire to abolish the line despite the many voices defending the railway.

[23] The city terminus of the railway was located at San Giorgio, near the church of the same name, from where, starting in 1893, the center of Verona could be reached by a horse-drawn omnibus service established by brothers Carlo and Giuseppe Carlini of Villafranca.

After facing a curve to the right, the train passed through San Floriano, whose stop was located near the parish church of the same name, where it also served the inhabitants of the municipality of Marano di Valpolicella.

Beyond the Brenner state highway, the railway reached, with a route almost entirely laid in trenches, the village of Ponton, where the Adige River was crossed by means of a dedicated bridge.

Coming out in the direction of Garda, after the intersection with Via San Faustino the line's route corresponds to that of Provincial Road 31, for the construction of which the decommissioned railroad bed was used.

[27] Garda derived many benefits from the arrival of the railway: while in the late 19th century the economy of the place was mainly based on fishing, the end of its isolation led to the start of tourist and commercial activities.

[30] At the time of the handover of management to the provincial administration, the equipment used on the line consisted of six steam locomotives, twenty-seven two-axle passenger coaches and forty-one freight cars.