Most of the line is single-track, other than passing places and longer double-track sections between Insch and Kennethmont and Inverurie and Berryden Junction (Aberdeen).

Many intermediate stations and connecting branch lines were closed to both passenger and goods traffic at various dates during the 1950s and 1960s.

The 1963 Reshaping of British Railways report recommended the closure of Inverurie and Insch stations, but these remain open.

[5] In 2017, the line through Forres was straightened and a new station built, reinstating the second platform and extending the passing loop there.

[citation needed] Raith's Farm freight yard at Dyce serves Aberdeen.

[1] The line serves the following stations: There are currently plans to extend some of the services and increase the frequency of trains between Inverurie and Aberdeen.

[7][8][9] Once this work is completed, the line will support an hourly service with a two-hour journey time stopping at all stations between Aberdeen and Inverness.

[10] There is a residence hall at the University of California, Riverside that is named after the Aberdeen-Inverness rail line.