In 1903, the Prussian state railways opened a line between Mengede and Dortmund-Scharnhorst station, which had two tracks from the start.
The route connected at Nette junction to the former trunk line of the Cologne-Minden Railway Company, running from Dortmund Hauptbahnhof to Herne.

At Deusen junction it also formerly connected with the link to the former Dortmund freight yard (Dortmunder Güterbahnhof), which was located just north and parallel with the Duisburg–Dortmund railway and has been disused since 30 June 2004.
As described in the following section, it next connects at Buschstraße junction with the former Emscher Valley Railway of the Royal Westphalian Railway Company from Dortmund Bodelschwingh to Dortmund-Huckarde Süd, now used by line S2 of the Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn.

From there it passes through the rural north of the city of Dortmund, initially through the immediate vicinity of the former Fürst Hardenberg colliery towards Obereving.
This is the location of the only freight yard in Dortmund still operated by DB Schenker, which serves as a transfer station for the Dortmund Port Railway (Dortmunder Hafenbahn) and for other transfer operations in the area.
The hump at the western end, however, is closed.
In the immediate neighbourhood south of it there is a freight yard of the Dortmund Railway (Dortmunder Eisenbahn), which also operates traffic to the Westphalian steel works (Westfalenhütte) and on the port railway.
Here a branch connects to the Dortmund–Enschede railway and various branch lines connect the two lines to the port and to Fürst Hardenberg colliery.

The line runs through the premises of Westphalian steel works and on the southern edge of Scharnhorst to reach Dortmund-Scharnhorst station, which was called Bahnhof Dortmund-Flughafen (Dortmund Airport station) from 1928 to 1986 after the nearby airfield in the suburb of Brackel.

The line has been electrified since 1963 (Nette–Obereving) and 1965 (Obereving–Scharnhorst) and it is active to this day for regional and national freight traffic, especially on weekends because of the closure of the Oberhausen-Osterfeld Süd–Hamm railway.
It also serves as a detour route for passenger traffic when tracks are closed in the Dortmund Hauptbahnhof area.
In 1903, the Prussian state railways opened a line between Mengede and Dortmund-Scharnhorst station, which had two tracks from the start. The route connected at Nette junction to the former trunk line of the Cologne-Minden Railway Company, running from Dortmund Hauptbahnhof to Herne.
At Deusen junction it also formerly connected with the link to the former Dortmund freight yard (Dortmunder Güterbahnhof), which was located just north and parallel with the Duisburg–Dortmund railway and has been disused since 30 June 2004. As described in the following section, it next connects at Buschstraße junction with the former Emscher Valley Railway of the Royal Westphalian Railway Company from Dortmund Bodelschwingh to Dortmund-Huckarde Süd, now used by line S2 of the Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn.
From there it passes through the rural north of the city of Dortmund, initially through the immediate vicinity of the former Fürst Hardenberg colliery towards Obereving. This is the location of the only freight yard in Dortmund still operated by DB Schenker, which serves as a transfer station for the Dortmund Port Railway (Dortmunder Hafenbahn) and for other transfer operations in the area. The hump at the western end, however, is closed. In the immediate neighbourhood south of it there is a freight yard of the Dortmund Railway (Dortmunder Eisenbahn), which also operates traffic to the Westphalian steel works (Westfalenhütte) and on the port railway. Here a branch connects to the Dortmund–Enschede railway and various branch lines connect the two lines to the port and to Fürst Hardenberg colliery.
The line runs through the premises of Westphalian steel works and on the southern edge of Scharnhorst to reach Dortmund-Scharnhorst station, which was called Bahnhof Dortmund-Flughafen (Dortmund Airport station) from 1928 to 1986 after the nearby airfield in the suburb of Brackel.
The line has been electrified since 1963 (Nette–Obereving) and 1965 (Obereving–Scharnhorst) and it is active to this day for regional and national freight traffic, especially on weekends because of the closure of the Oberhausen-Osterfeld Süd–Hamm railway. It also serves as a detour route for passenger traffic when tracks are closed in the Dortmund Hauptbahnhof area.
Dortmund rail freight bypass