The route connected at Nette junction to the former trunk line of the Cologne-Minden Railway Company, running from Dortmund Hauptbahnhof to Herne.

[5] From there it passes through the rural north of the city of Dortmund, initially through the immediate vicinity of the former Fürst Hardenberg colliery towards Obereving.

The line has been electrified since 1963 (Nette–Obereving) and 1965 (Obereving–Scharnhorst)[2] and it is active to this day for regional and national freight traffic, especially on weekends because of the closure of the Oberhausen-Osterfeld Süd–Hamm railway.

It also serves as a detour route for passenger traffic when tracks are closed in the Dortmund Hauptbahnhof area.

[12] However, only one set of points was re-established, so trains from Deusen must run from the junction to Huckarde Süd Railway Station on the left track, opposite the normal direction of travel.