The first documented idea of building a railway between Norway's two largest cities was launched by Voss forest supervisor Hans Gløersen on 24 August 1871 in the Bergensposten newspaper.

In 1872 the railway director Carl Abraham Pihl and two engineers went on a survey tour to look at the suggested line.

[4] On 20 October 1871 two engineers traversed the two possible routes from Bergen to Voss; via Fana, Os and Hardangerfjord; and via Dale and Sørfjord.

During the 1875 session there was not a majority for the Voss Line, partially due to the lack of capital available for local investors.

This was based on a claim from Johan Jørgen Schwartz, the chairman of the committee, that the investment costs were underestimated.

When Jebsen in addition was willing to act as personal guarantor for Bruun in case of his death, the majority in the parliament shifted.

This import of labor had the effect of pumping money into the local economy, and several taverns were built along the line.

Many of the navvies settled near the line, and started working for the Norwegian State Railways as part of the operation.

On the night of 10/11 August 1904 all the track was changed and in the morning the trains could operate on standard gauge to Voss.

[13] Norway is a country with abundance of hydroelectricity and NSB saw huge amounts of money burned with imported coal.

Parts of the closed sections of the line, from Midttun to Garnes, has been converted to a heritage railway—the Old Voss Line—that is operated with steam trains by the Norwegian Railway Club during the summer.

The railway has spectacular scenery and a vertical descent of 864 metres (2,835 ft) or 5.5% along the 20 kilometres (12 mi) route from Myrdal to Flåm.