The 42.4 km (26.3 mi) long Donauwörth–Nördlingen–Oettingen section was built by the Royal Bavarian State Railways and opened on 15 May 1849.

[4] The Bavarian Railway Museum (BEM) is now housed in the former Nördlingen engine depot (Betriebswerk).

There are two signal boxes (for dispatching and for controlling access to sidings); these are mechanical interlocking of the Jüdel class and was built in 1929.

DB Regio Bayern operated Regionalbahn services as the Fugger-Express until December 2022, using Alstom Coradia Continental (class 440) electric multiple units.

The lines to Feuchtwangen and Gunzenhausen are only operated by passenger trains in the summer (otherwise they are exclusively used by freight).