Prior to the Austro-Prussian War, the Prussian military opposed the building of fixed bridges across the Rhine for military reasons, except in fortified cities such as Cologne, Mainz, Koblenz and Düsseldorf.

The line was built from Gladbach to Obercassel (now Oberkassel) and completed on 16 December 1852.

In July 1870, the Hamm Railway Bridge was opened over the Rhine, connecting to the BME’s Rheinknie station in Düsseldorf and bypassing the Neuss Hauptbahnhof–Obercassel section.

In 1891, the new Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof was opened and the line from Mönchengladbach was realigned to run to it.

The route is served (as of 2018) by Regional-Express trains on lines RE 4 (Wupper-Express) and RE 13 (Maas-Wupper-Express).