It ran south of Neumarkt along the Sulz and largely parallel to the Ludwig Canal to Beilngries and from there along the Altmühl to Dietfurt.

At the completion of the Neumarkt–Nuremberg line in 1871 and its subsequent extension soon after to Regensburg, plans were developed to connect the communities between Neumarkt and Eichstätt to the railway.

The construction of the new Rhine–Main–Danube Canal between Bamberg and Kelheim finally ushered in the end of the Sulz Valley Railway: the line, particularly in the area of Beilngries, was in the way of the major project.

On 25 September 1987, the last passenger train ran between Neumarkt and Beilngries, freight traffic on the Greißelbach–Beilngries section ended to 29 July 1989.

Between 28 August 1989 and 30 November 1989, the line was dismantled south of Greißelbach station and only the Neumarkt–Greißelbach section remained open temporarily.