The authority to construct the railway was gained in three stages, that from Bex, a small town on the main Lausanne–Simplon railway, to Villars-sur-Ollon on 15 October 1897; from Villars to Chesières on 19 December 1905 and from Villars to Bretaye on 5 October 1911.
The pass (1,806 m) is connected to Villars by the Bex–Villars–Bretaye railway, which is the second highest railway of the canton after the Montreux–Glion–Rochers-de-Naye railway.