Plans for the construction of a railway between Cologne and the Belgian border began in December 1833 with the issue of concession to the Cologne Railway Committee, which was to develop a line under the direction of Cologne Lord Mayor Johann Adolph Steinberger and the entrepreneur Ludolf Camphausen.
The Cologne Railway Committee presented a draft route that would bypass Aachen to reduce costs: the line would run from Eschweiler to Kornelimünster along the Inde and from there to the Belgian border.
Düren would also not have been connected to the railway.
The Aachen merchants resisted this proposal and they founded the Aachen Railway Committee under the direction of David Hansemann and Philipp Heinrich Pastor.
This was the beginning of the so-called Eisenbahnstreites zwischen Köln und Aachen (railway dispute between Cologne and Aachen).
In October, the Aachen Railway Committee presented an alternative proposal for the route that ran from Cologne via Düren and Aachen to the Belgian border.

On 6 April 1836, a conference of representatives of the traders of Aachen and Cologne in Jülich, chaired by the Oberpräsident of the Rhine Province Ernst von Bodelschwingh, could not resolve to the railway dispute.
Hansemann and the Aachen cloth manufacturer Joseph van Gülpen then travelled to Berlin and lodged an application for a line running through Aachen.
In Berlin, lengthy negotiations took place between representatives of Aachen and Cologne.
Prussian king Frederick William III decided on 12 February 1837 that the line would run through Aachen and thus ended the railway dispute.

In June 1837, the Aachen and Cologne representatives agreed to the merger of the two committees of their cities and founded the Rhenish Railway Company (Rheinische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft), which received a concession to build the line from Cologne to the Belgian border in Herbesthal.
Construction of the line began on 11 April 1838.

The proposal to develop a direct line from Düren to Aachen was discarded due to the geological conditions of the northern Eifel and a curve to the north was adopted between Düren and Aachen that is still used by the line.
The share capital of 9 million marks was raised to enable the Rhenish Railway to build the line by the issuing of shares.
But due to the difficult route, construction costs increased to 21 million marks.
The additional costs of 12 million marks were raised by issuing additional shares worth 4.5 million marks and bonds worth 7.5 million marks.
The Belgian government alone acquired bonds for 3 million marks.

The first section from Cologne to Müngersdorf was opened on 2 August 1839, less than four years after the Nuremberg–Fürth railway, the first German railway, and was the seventh railway on German territory.
To this end, open and closed carriages and wagons were delivered by Waggonfabrik Talbot of Aachen using road transport at the beginning of the year.
Another section from Müngersdorf to Lövenich was opened on 2 July 1840.
The last section from Lövenich to Aachen was opened on 1 September 1841 with an inaugural trip from Cologne to Aachen and back, during which a banquet for 360 invited guests was held.
Regular passenger services on the whole route commenced on 6 September 1841.
A panel on the east side of Düren station still marks this event.

With the connection of the line from Belgium, a special train ran from Antwerp to Cologne on 15 October 1843.
This made the line between Cologne and Aachen part of the world's first cross-border railway.
The Belgian railways were connected to the French railway network in 1845, so the Cologne-Aachen line handled traffic to and from France.
Plans for the construction of a railway between Cologne and the Belgian border began in December 1833 with the issue of concession to the Cologne Railway Committee, which was to develop a line under the direction of Cologne Lord Mayor Johann Adolph Steinberger and the entrepreneur Ludolf Camphausen. The Cologne Railway Committee presented a draft route that would bypass Aachen to reduce costs: the line would run from Eschweiler to Kornelimünster along the Inde and from there to the Belgian border. Düren would also not have been connected to the railway. The Aachen merchants resisted this proposal and they founded the Aachen Railway Committee under the direction of David Hansemann and Philipp Heinrich Pastor. This was the beginning of the so-called Eisenbahnstreites zwischen Köln und Aachen (railway dispute between Cologne and Aachen). In October, the Aachen Railway Committee presented an alternative proposal for the route that ran from Cologne via Düren and Aachen to the Belgian border.
On 6 April 1836, a conference of representatives of the traders of Aachen and Cologne in Jülich, chaired by the Oberpräsident of the Rhine Province Ernst von Bodelschwingh, could not resolve to the railway dispute. Hansemann and the Aachen cloth manufacturer Joseph van Gülpen then travelled to Berlin and lodged an application for a line running through Aachen. In Berlin, lengthy negotiations took place between representatives of Aachen and Cologne. Prussian king Frederick William III decided on 12 February 1837 that the line would run through Aachen and thus ended the railway dispute.
In June 1837, the Aachen and Cologne representatives agreed to the merger of the two committees of their cities and founded the Rhenish Railway Company (Rheinische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft), which received a concession to build the line from Cologne to the Belgian border in Herbesthal. Construction of the line began on 11 April 1838.
The proposal to develop a direct line from Düren to Aachen was discarded due to the geological conditions of the northern Eifel and a curve to the north was adopted between Düren and Aachen that is still used by the line. The share capital of 9 million marks was raised to enable the Rhenish Railway to build the line by the issuing of shares. But due to the difficult route, construction costs increased to 21 million marks. The additional costs of 12 million marks were raised by issuing additional shares worth 4.5 million marks and bonds worth 7.5 million marks. The Belgian government alone acquired bonds for 3 million marks.
The first section from Cologne to Müngersdorf was opened on 2 August 1839, less than four years after the Nuremberg–Fürth railway, the first German railway, and was the seventh railway on German territory. To this end, open and closed carriages and wagons were delivered by Waggonfabrik Talbot of Aachen using road transport at the beginning of the year. Another section from Müngersdorf to Lövenich was opened on 2 July 1840. The last section from Lövenich to Aachen was opened on 1 September 1841 with an inaugural trip from Cologne to Aachen and back, during which a banquet for 360 invited guests was held. Regular passenger services on the whole route commenced on 6 September 1841. A panel on the east side of Düren station still marks this event.
With the connection of the line from Belgium, a special train ran from Antwerp to Cologne on 15 October 1843. This made the line between Cologne and Aachen part of the world's first cross-border railway. The Belgian railways were connected to the French railway network in 1845, so the Cologne-Aachen line handled traffic to and from France.
Cologne–Aachen high-speed railway