The 239 km long route, which is still open, runs from Berlin Hauptbahnhof in a westerly direction to Spandau.

From there it runs through Rathenow, Stendal, Oebisfelde, Wolfsburg and Gifhorn to Lehrte, where it connects with the Hanover–Brunswick line to Hanover.

The route would reduce the distance between Berlin, Hanover and the Rhine Province compared to the already existing line via Potsdam, Magdeburg and Brunswick.

The railway line became increasingly important for passenger and freight transport between Berlin and Hanover, the Ruhr and Bremen.

With the division of Germany after the Second World War, the line lost most of its long-distance passenger trains.

In 1974 a 970 m long cut and cover tunnel was completed under the newly constructed Elbe Lateral Canal.

This plan is reflected in the line as built with the old railway, which is still largely not electrified, being used for regional services.

With the nationalisation of the Hamburg railway in 1884, its operation was further integrated with the Lehrte railway in Berlin and Spandau: Putlitzstraße station opened in 1898 allowed for the first time transfers between trains on the north ring and suburban trains between Spandau and Berlin's Lehrte station.