The line connects the North Frisian town of Husum with all the important parts of the Eiderstedt peninsula, including Tönning, Garding and Sankt Peter-Ording.

The section of the line to Bad St. Peter-Ording branches off to the south just before Tönning station, which is a terminus where trains have to reverse to in order to continue their journey.

The only engineering works on the line after Tönning station are some bridges that are built above sluice gates for drainage and a floodgate in a dike that can be closed during storm surges near St. Peter-Ort.

The section from Tönning to Husum was opened in 1854 as part of the Tönning–Flensburg line built by the Flensburg–Husum–Tönning Railway Company (Flensburg-Husum-Tönninger Eisenbahngesellschaft).

Previously, guests of the spa and tourists from the end of the line at Garding were transported in horse-drawn carriages and postbuses to the popular coastal resort with its wide sandy beach.

In the early days, the line was operated with steam trains, then with Deutsche Bundesbahn class V 36 diesel locomotives and red Donnerbüchse carriages.

Difficulties with baggage handling and the use of uneconomic train sets (DB Class V 100 with Silberling control cars) signalled a decline of the line.

The introduction of regional fast trains (Regionalschnellbahnen) and hourly regular interval services with modern class DB-628 diesel multiple units transformed the line.

[4] In 2000 the Nord-Ostsee-Bahn (NOB) service (now a subsidiary of Veolia Verkehr) won the tender with Alstom Coradia LINT and Bombardier Talent diesel multiple units.

This company initiated consistent services from early morning to late evening and introduced Gleisradio (track radio), a special passenger information system using GPS.