Early on, there was support in Homburg for an efficient transport connection from Frankfurt in order to increase patronage to its spa and casino.

Projects to build railways failed in 1836, 1845, 1851 and 1856, caused by funding problems and the number of small states that the line would have to run through: the line as built was only 18 km long but it ran across the territories of four independent countries: the Free City of Frankfurt, the Grand Duchy of Hesse (Darmstadt), the Duchy of Nassau and the Landgraviate of Hesse-Homburg.

At its opening it had 28 first to third class carriages and luggage and freight wagons and four locomotives with a 1B wheel arrangement, supplied by Henschel with works numbers 46 to 49.

On 1 January 1880 the railway was sold to Prussia because the company could not afford and did not want the changes to the line required for connection to the planned new Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof.

The line was diverted to connect at Bockenheim station (now Frankfurt West), which had to be avoided in 1860, on the also nationalised Main-Weser Railway.

On 1 September 1905, a link was opened at the request of Emperor Wilhelm II through the Frankfurt vineyards (Rebstockgelände), initially only for freight and special trains.

A link between this line and Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof was opened on 15 March 1927 and is still used by trains connecting to the Taunusbahn to the north of Bad Homburg.

After repairs to war damage the line recovered its importance for handling commuter traffic to Frankfurt.

The extension to Friedberg was downgraded to a single-track branch line due to war damage and a loss of profitability.

From 25 September 1977 S-Bahn services were operated by electric multiple units of class 420 terminating in Friedrichsdorf.