Before the completion of the modern direct route via Rottendorf, Kitzingen, Neustadt an der Aisch and Fürth, which could not initially be built because of the difficult terrain in the Steigerwald area, the eastern part of the Ludwig's Western Railway was of great importance for east-west long-distance traffic.

In 1978, faster regional services were established, accompanied by the closure of several stations, as was the case on many lines in Germany during the 1970s and 1980s.

The line was opened in three stages from Bamberg from 1852 to 1854: Further development of the line to create additional capacity to handle increased traffic was necessary over the years: In addition, on 1 July 1864, a new railway station was opened in Würzburg, as the old Ludwigsbahnhof (Ludwig’s station) in the city centre had to be closed because it was unable to cope with the increase in traffic.

From December 2004, services on the Schweinfurt–Nuremberg route were hauled at first by class 111 locomotives with five double-deck carriages (built in 1997), but with a top speed of 140 km / h only.

DB Regio therefore procured eight new five-car sets, which have been hauled since December 2005 by eight new class 146 locomotives, saving several minutes on the line.