On 1 February 1870 the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company opened the first part of the line between Mönchengladbach and Odenkirchen.

The concession for the construction and operation of the extension of the line to Hochneukirch, Jülich, Inden and Weisweiler to Eschweiler-Aue, with a total length of 48.77 km, was granted to the BME on 23 September 1870.
This section was put into operation three years later on 1 October 1873.

Another section to Stolberg followed in 1875.
Stolberg BME station was located only a few hundred metres south of the Stolberg RhE station on the Cologne–Aachen line, built by the Rhenish Railway Company (Rheinische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, RhE).
The station is now called Stolberg (Rheinland) Hauptbahnhof.

At the end of that year, a connection line to was built to the Stolberg AIE station of the Aachen Industrial Railway (Aachener Industriebahn AG) was put into operation, but soon after the nationalisation of the (nominally) private Prussian railway companies at the end of the 19th century, it was closed.

When the line between Mönchengladbach and Stolberg was nationalised, it came under the Royal Railway Division at Cologne of the East bank of the Rhine (Königlichen Eisenbahndirection zu Cöln rechtsrheinisch) from 1 April 1883, like the other railway lines in the region (despite being west of the Rhine), which then integrated the individual lines.
The connecting line that was still located in area of Stolberg RHE station was connected to Eschweiler-Aue on 15 October 1884.

The Prussian state railways, introduced the first direct passenger trains from Stolberg to Mönchengladbach.
In 1920 the company became part of the Deutsche Reichsbahn.
On 1 February 1870 the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company opened the first part of the line between Mönchengladbach and Odenkirchen.
The concession for the construction and operation of the extension of the line to Hochneukirch, Jülich, Inden and Weisweiler to Eschweiler-Aue, with a total length of 48.77 km, was granted to the BME on 23 September 1870. This section was put into operation three years later on 1 October 1873.
Another section to Stolberg followed in 1875. Stolberg BME station was located only a few hundred metres south of the Stolberg RhE station on the Cologne–Aachen line, built by the Rhenish Railway Company (Rheinische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, RhE). The station is now called Stolberg (Rheinland) Hauptbahnhof.
At the end of that year, a connection line to was built to the Stolberg AIE station of the Aachen Industrial Railway (Aachener Industriebahn AG) was put into operation, but soon after the nationalisation of the (nominally) private Prussian railway companies at the end of the 19th century, it was closed.
When the line between Mönchengladbach and Stolberg was nationalised, it came under the Royal Railway Division at Cologne of the East bank of the Rhine (Königlichen Eisenbahndirection zu Cöln rechtsrheinisch) from 1 April 1883, like the other railway lines in the region (despite being west of the Rhine), which then integrated the individual lines. The connecting line that was still located in area of Stolberg RHE station was connected to Eschweiler-Aue on 15 October 1884.
The Prussian state railways, introduced the first direct passenger trains from Stolberg to Mönchengladbach. In 1920 the company became part of the Deutsche Reichsbahn.
Mönchengladbach–Stolberg railway