It leaves the extension of the Hamburg-Altona link line at Ohlsdorf station and runs to Poppenbüttel.

The Alster Valley Company (Alstertal Bahn GmbH), which had been founded on 4 May 1908 to operate the route, negotiated with the Prussian government and the city of Hamburg.

Under the compromise negotiated, it was agreed that the line would only initially run only to Poppenbüttel, as the following villages to be served were exclaves of Hamburg and thus needed an additional special license.

The license for the less than six-kilometre section between Ohlsdorf and Poppenbüttel was issued on 3 December 1912 by Hamburg and on 31 May 1913 by Prussia.

However, since the First World War began a year later, work was quickly brought to a halt by material and labour shortages.

The Alster Valley Railway was therefore the first line of the Hamburg S-Bahn to operate on its current electrical system.