The rail link to Lake Constance was finally completed with the opening of the last section between Oerlikon and Zurich on 26 June 1856.

In 2014, with the commissioning of the Weinberg Tunnel, trains have run from the newly built underground station to Oerlikon.

The Zürichberg line, which runs from the Hauptbahnhof via Stadelhofen to Effretikon, is, with a few exceptions, only used by S-Bahn trains.

After the bridge, the line passes through Zürich Wipkingen station and then immediately runs through Wipkingen Tunnel, after which it continues for some distance in an open cutting, where it merges with the Käferberg line and finally reaches Zürich Oerlikon station.

The Oerlikon–Effretikon section is the continuation of the Wipkingen line and was opened on 27 December 1855 by the Swiss Northeastern Railway (Schweizerische Nordostbahn).

In Wallisellen, the Wallisellen–Uster–Rapperswil railway (also called the Glatthalbahn) branches off to Dübendorf, Uster and Rapperswil.

The section is served by trains on lines S3 (from Dietlikon), S8, S14 (to Wallisellen, branching to the Wallisellen–Uster–Rapperswil railway), and S19.

The Effretikon–Winterthur section is the continuation of the route from Zurich via Oerlikon, Wallisellen, Dietlikon, Effretikon and was opened in 1855 by the Northeastern Railway.

However, due to financial problems, the SNB was compulsorily liquidated in 1878 and the Northeastern Railway took over this company.

Today, a third track would be of use, because this route is a bottleneck in the link from Zurich via Winterthur to Ostschweiz and is considered the busiest in Switzerland.

[6] As a last resort, a three-track upgrade of the line has been completed from Winterthur station to the motorway underpass at Tössmühle.

In Winterthur, the line passes under the Storchen Bridge, which is brightly illuminated at night and can be seen by train passengers.

Neugut junction, where the line connects to the Wallisellen–Uster–Rapperswil railway, is designed with two single-track bridges so that the trains can branch off without crossing the opposite track.

Due to the expected long construction period and high costs, a proposal to upgrade the existing line to at least four tracks has been examined.

[6] A similar plan to the Brütten Tunnel proposal was proposed as a popular initiative by the VCS Verkehrs-Club der Schweiz (Swiss Association for Transport and Environment), Zurich, but it was rejected by the voters of the Canton of Zurich on 26 September 2010 with 70% against.