It branches off the Nuremberg–Schwandorf railway at Neukirchen bei Sulzbach-Rosenberg station and runs via Vilseck to Weiden in der Oberpfalz.

It argued that this route would be the shortest and most economical connection between Nuremberg and Weiden and that the line would also be important for freight traffic to and from Bohemia and central Germany.

After Vilseck station, the line turns east in front of the deserted village of Langenbruck and runs past the southern edge of the Grafenwoehr Training Area through the Etzenricht forest to Weiherhammer.

[2] The Neukirchen–Thansüß section is integrated into the Verkehrsverbund Großraum Nürnberg (Nuremberg Region Transport Association) as Regionalbahn service R41.

The Regional-Express service on the Nuremberg–Neukirchen–Weiden–Neustadt (Waldnaab)/Schwandorf(–Regensburg) route are operated by class 612 (Regioswinger) diesel railcars.