The plans envisaged that the line would be built as a 750 mm gauge railway. This would have reduced the cost of the structures on the line. The disadvantage was that the freight would have had to be transhipped at the terminal stations, which is why the line was ultimately built to standard gauge. One problem that became clear during the planning was the differences in altitude in the Teutoburg forest. Because it was decided to avoid a tunnel for cost reasons, tight bends were required on a grade of 1:40 on this section. It was estimated that the construction of the railway line would cost 2.5 million marks. In a cost comparison it was calculated that the line would yield a surplus of 127,000 marks a year.