Starting at Nürnberg Hauptbahnhof, the line turns southeast and passes through the Nuremberg districts of Gleißhammer, Zerzabelshof and Langwasser and past the Lorenzer Reichwald (national forest) to Feucht, where the route to Altdorf branches off.

There, the route bends to the east, runs through a gap between the Grünberg and Tyrolberg mountains and enters the Neumarkt basin.

It runs across the basin in a straight line to the southeast partly on embankments through Pölling to Neumarkt station, from where the former Sulz Valley Railway branched off to the south.

The line now runs roughly south-east through the furrowed valleys of the Franconian Alb, some of which are crossed on bridges and some partly on embankments.

The line runs further to the southeast above the valley of the Schwarze Laber, reaching Undorf station, and turns to the east towards the Naab.

The line crosses the Danube at the confluence of the Naab and the Regensburg–Ingolstadt railway from Ingolstadt and runs directly to the east.

In 2007 the route was upgraded for active tilting, including work on overhead lines, signalling and bridges at a cost of € 6.7 million.

Between Reichwald junction (near Feucht) and Nuremberg Hbf the tracks are shared with the Nuremberg–Ingolstadt high-speed railway.

Regional transport includes Regional-Express (RE) trains on the Nuremberg–Neumarkt–Parsberg–Beratzhausen–Regensburg route, continuing to Munich, normally composed of class 111 electric locomotives and double deck carriages.