The line, which is also known as the Unterwesterwaldbahn (Lower Westerwald Railway), runs through the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse.

The Rhenish Railway Company (Rheinische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, RhE) planned the line and also received the concession to build it.

It was opened to Staffel on 30 May 1884, by which time the Prussian state railways had taken over operations of the RhE.

The modern Montabaur station was opened in 2002 to provide interchange with the Cologne-Frankfurt high-speed railway.

Due to an accident at a level crossing near Girod on 30 September 2011, the line was severely damaged over a length of 7 km to Montabaur.