the line crosses the remnants of the ancient Fossa Carolina canal and the Altmühl river. After Treuchtlingen the line runs south up the Möhren valley and through the Franconian Alb to the railway junction of Donauwörth, where the Ries Railway connects to Nördlingen and the Ingolstadt–Neuoffingen railway (Danube Valley Railway) connects to Ingolstadt and Ulm. Formerly there were several stations in the Alb, but they have now largely been closed and dismantled. Only Otting-Weilheim is still served by regional trains; Mündling is still used for operational purposes. Fünfstetten, which was once a junction to a branch line to Monheim, is currently only rarely used or only as a siding. The line crosses the Wörnitz shortly before Donauwörth, and shortly afterwards crosses the Danube and the Zusam and then runs parallel to the Lech. At Mertingen the line used to meet a branch line to Wertingen, and at Herbertshofen and Gablingen there are industrial sidings. After Gersthofen, the line crosses the A8 autobahn and Federal Highway 2 and then joins the Ulm–Augsburg line to run through Augsburg-Oberhausen station, cross the Wertach river and the Augsburg Local Railway and finally reach Augsburg Hauptbahnhof. Development The route is double track and electrified throughout. Between Nuremberg and Roth the line runs parallel with the one or two-track Nuremberg-Roth S-Bahn line. In addition, between Nuremberg station and Reichelsdorf trains run on the left, to facilitate connections with the Nuremberg ring line. The projected Augsburg S-Bahn would involve the upgrading of the Meitingen–Augsburg Hbf section to three tracks. Detailed planning and funding of the project have not been completed. A decision to go forward with the project is not expected before 2015. The first Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan of 1973 identified a high-speed line between Würzburg and Augsburg via Nuremberg as one of eight development projects. The line was listed as the Würzburg–Augsburg high-speed railway line in the Coordinated Investment Program of the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan of 1977. It was also identified as being an urgent priority in the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan of 1985. Transport associations The line is operated as Regionalbahn line R6 or R64 from Nuremberg to Otting-Weilheim by the Greater Nuremberg Transport Association (Verkehrsverbund Großraum Nürnberg, VGN) and as Regionalbahn line R4 from Otting-Weilheim to Augsburg by the Augsburg Transport Association (Augsburger Verkehrsverbund, AVV). Operations Intercity Express and Intercity trains operate long-distance services over the line. The northern section from Nuremberg