In September 1983, passenger services between Wiesbaden and Bad Schwalbach were discontinued by the Deutsche Bundesbahn. Around three years later, in September 1986, passenger services north of Bad Schwalbach were also discontinued by Deutsche Bundesbahn. In 1999, freight traffic north of the Taunus ridge was also discontinued. The last section of the Diez - Kettenbach freight line was closed in 2000. Only a connecting curve between Wiesbaden-Ost station and the former Wiesbaden-Landedenkmal station was still used in the following years until 2014 to serve the Henkell sparkling wine cellars.

Since August 1987, the Hessian section of the line, including its technical facilities, has been a listed building and, at around 40 kilometers, is the longest listed building in the federal state.

The section in Rhineland-Palatinate is now owned by the municipalities of Aar-Einrich and Diez. The Hessian sections are still owned by DB AG. The current leaseholder of the Hessian section of line is Aartalbahn Infrastruktur gGmbH, which is pursuing the short to medium-term goal of making the section of line accessible at least by means of museum railway operation (opens in a new tab)until regular reactivation. The state capital of Wiesbaden has been supporting this infrastructure project for several years with annual grants from the municipal budget.

After the rail route between Wiesbaden and Bad Schwalbach was to be reactivated by 2020 as part of the so-called Citybahn, a feasibility study was commissioned following the discontinuation of the Citybahn plans in order to examine the realization potential of the 23.7-kilometre southern section of the route - from Bad Schwalbach to Wiesbaden-Ost station - as a regional railroad.

This involved

• examined the engineering feasibility,
• an operating concept was developed,
• the traffic potential of the route was analyzed,
• and a simplified benefit-cost analysis (NKU) was carried out.

The calculated benefit-cost ratio (BCR) of 2.1 confirms the economic viability of reactivation and forms the basis for the next planning steps.

Further information on the current planning status of the reactivation project is provided on Wiesbaden acts | Aartalbahn (opens in a new tab).