Originally, a railway line from Jülich via Brachelen and Randerath to Heinsberg was proposed, but later it was decided to build a shortened route, which would start in Lindern.

There was resistance to railway construction in Porselen; some small holders refused to surrender parts of their land and attacked railwaymen with marbles.

The economy in the otherwise structurally weak Heinsberg country profited immensely; especially the Vereinigte Glanzstoff-Fabriken in the district of Oberbruch would develop into a large company because of the building of the railway.

Closure of the gap between Lindern and Jülich could no longer be achieved, as the development of coal mines around Hückelhovenhad led to the construction of the Jülich–Dalheim railway to the right of Rur.

On 11 September 1953, Deutsche Bundesbahn announced one of its first rationalisation measures: passenger services, which had previously been steam-hauled were transferred to modern, more economical diesel railcars.

Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB) wanted to remove itself from loss-making operations on small secondary lines.

A local CDU member of the Bundestag, Adolf Freiherr Spies von Büllesheim was doubtful about these surveys.

Only a few customers, such as the municipal gas works, a timber yard and the Glanzstoff factory, remained in Oberbruch.

Freight transport at the Heinsberg and Dremmen stations was already planned to be closed on 28 May 1994 due to poor profitability.

The reason for this was that the fireless locomotive of the "Meiningen" class, which had previously been used for shunting, had been taken out of service at a major examination.

The districts served were Schafhausen, Eschweiler, Oberbruch, Hülhoven, Dremmen, Porselen, Horst and Randerath.

Large parts of the line were renovated in 2005, level crossings were modernised and a new track body was laid with concrete sleepers.

[10] Hans Joachim Sistenich, then managing director of Aachener Verkehrsverbund (Aachen public transport) and the Zweckverband Nahverkehr Rheinland (Rhineland local transport), explained on 9 March 2010 in the Heinsberg District Office that he had the goal to restore rail services towards Heinsberg from December 2012, initially on part of the line.

The reactivation of the line with operations by Euregiobahn was originally planned to be implemented in 2008, but was then put delayed by a reduction of federal funding.

Once the realisation date 2008 could not be met due to the reduction of federal funding, a reactivation of the line by June 2013 was targeted.

[14] Due to delays in the completion of the electronic interlocking, the resumption of the passenger traffic took place only at the timetable change on 15 December 2013.

[19] The route now begins on platform 3 of Lindern station, which was built in 1852 and dates back to the founding of the Aachen–Mönchengladbach railway.

For the reactivation of the line to Heinsberg, the connections to the turnout at the western end were rebuilt and the station and the signalling were adapted.

A halt was built in Horst at line kilometre 5.0 for the first time during the resumption of local rail operations in 2013.

Two fireless locomotives were available on these for shunting and the hauling of wagons from the station to the works site, even after the turn of the millennium.

[22] The new owner, WestEnergie und Verkehr, opened a new halt next to the Kreishaus (district office) in Heinsberg for the re-opening of the line, which had been closed for passenger traffic since 1980.

RB 33 Regionalbahn services operated by DB Regio NRW have served the halt in both directions since the re-opening on 15 December 2013.

Shortly after the closing of the passenger service to Heinsberg, the entrance building was demolished to make way for the new bus station.