It reached Coesfeld on 1 August 1875 and Gronau on 30 September 1875, when the Münster–Enschede line of the Royal Westphalian Railway Company (KWE) was also opened to the station.

The last section to Enschede in the Netherlands was built in cooperation with the KWE and opened on 15 October 1875 and subsequently operated jointly.

The section from Dortmund to Lünen is double track, electrified and classified as a main line.

The section from Lünen to the border at Gronau is single track, non-electrified and has been classified as a branch line since 2007.

This section is operated as part of Deutsche Bahn’s Münster-Westphalia Regional Network, based in Munster.