Likewise, in 1843 the line from Oschersleben via Jerxheim to Wolfenbüttel was taken into service, as a result of which one could travel by rail between Vienenburg and Halberstadt, albeit on a route running a long way to the north.

Not until Prussia's victory in the Austro-Prussian War and the resulting annexation of Hanover could the Magdeburg-Halberstadt Railway Company (MHE) begin work on its construction in 1867.

[2] During World War II, traffic increased further as the route was an important part of the connection between the Ruhr and central Germany.

Passenger trains were still using the section of line between Heudeber-Danstedt and Wasserleben until 28 September 2002, continuing along the track of the former Osterwieck-Wasserleben Railway to Osterwieck.

The entire control and safety equipment was modernised (including the installation of an electronic signal box at Sandersleben), the track layouts of many stations were reduced to the minimum necessary.

[3] The Deutsche Bahn's Regional Express trains (HarzExpress) work the line every two hours between Halle, Halberstadt and Hanover, stopping at all stations, as do local services on the North Harz Network (Nordharznetz) operated by Veolia Verkehr Sachsen-Anhalt.

The stations between Halle (Saale) Hauptbahnhof and Halle-Trotha are on a separate track operated as part of line S7 of the S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland.