In 1891, the Sluisjesdijk was connected via the Breede Hilledijk on Katendrecht with the station Fijenoord, which came into service in 1878. Due to the construction of the Maashaven, the railway was diverted in 1901 to the Putschelaan-Brielaaan-Doklaan. In 1910 a connection was made with the IJselmonde shunting yard. Two years later the railway line was extended via the Waalhaven (north of the airport) to Heijplaat (Waalhaven West). In 1922, the line section Waalhaven Oost-Heijplaat was moved to enlarge the Waalhaven.
In 1928 the line section IJsselmonde-Waalhaven was built because the connection via the Brielaaan had become overloaded. In 1959, Waalhaven South station was built on its current location and in 1963 the old station (directly south of the Waalhaven) was closed. In 1974 the Waalhaven Oost-Briestelaan-IJsselmonde connection was discontinued.
In 1935 the railway was extended via Pernis to the Vondelingenplaat, in 1959 the eastern part of the railway was diverted to the new Waalhaven Zuid station.
In 1957 the railway was extended from the Vondelingenplaat (Shell) to the Botlek, in 1964 to Europoort (Gulf), in 1964 to Europoort West (RWS / BP) and finally in 1977 to the Maasvlakte (EMO). Since the construction of the Kijfhoek shunting yard in 1978, most trains have been running to / from Kijfhoek instead of IJsselmonde.
In connection with the construction of the Betuweroute, the part of the Waalhaven yard up to Barendrecht has been replaced by the Verlegde Havenspoorlijn (2004) and parallel to it the Short-circuit route (2006). With this rerouting, the route will then be completely electrified, so that electric trains can now use the harbor railway in its entirety.