The freight bypass railway allows freight trains to bypass the busy Freiburg Central Station (Hauptbahnhof) on a separate, direct line.

It has the highest German track class of D4, which means that the line is built for axle loads of 22.5 tonnes and loads of 8.0 tonnes per metre of train.

The PZB 90 intermittent cab signalling system is used on the freight bypass railway.

The original location proposed was south of the main station on the Rhine Valley Railway, but because it provoked protests from the surrounding population, an undeveloped site west of central Freiburg was used instead.

Since this area was far from the existing railway facilities, it was connected by a new railway line, which is linked in the north and south of Freiburg with the Rhine Valley line.