Hanoverian Southern Railway
The line from Elze to Löhne was taken in to operation by the Hanover-Altenbeken Railway Company ("Hannover-Altenbekener Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft", HAE) for freight on 19 May 1875 and for passenger services on 30 June 1875. The HAE also planned a line from Hildesheim towards Vienenburg. Trains had been operated between Elze and Hildesheim since 1853 over the Hanoverian Southern Railway and the Hildesheim–Nordstemmen railway. The HAE was nationalised on 1 January 1880 and became part of the Prussian state railways, which had included the Hanover railways since 1866. The Hamelin–Löhne section was duplicated between 1908 and 1911.