The 66.5-kilometer (41.3 mi) long line extends from Frankfurt Central Station (Hauptbahnhof) to Eschhofen, a borough of Limburg an der Lahn.

From Frankfurt to Niedernhausen, it operates as Rhine-Main S-Bahn line S2 and carries Deutsche Bahn route number 645.2.

From Frankfurt Central Station to Frankfurt-Höchst, it also carries S-Bahn line S1 (which then follows the Taunus railway to Wiesbaden).

The concession was awarded to the Hessian Ludwig Railway (Hessische Ludwigsbahn, or HLB).

The line from Niedernhausen to Wiesbaden Central Station, called the Ländchesbahn Railway, was launched on 1 July 1879.