Bologna to Rimini

The railway begins at Bologna Centrale. It continues southeast through Bologna San Vitale, passes under Bologna's belt railway, and crosses over the Bologna–Portomaggiore railway [it].

Leaving Bologna, the line continues southeast through the stations of San Lazzaro di Savena (opened in 2008), Ozzano dell'Emilia [it], Varignana [it], Castel San Pietro Terme [it], before reaching Imola. Until 1944, the line at Imola interchanged with the Massalombarda–Fontanelice railway [it], which it passed under after Imola.

Following Imola, the line continues southeast to the station of Castelbolognese-Riolo Terme [it], which was adjacent to the terminus of the Castelbolognese–Riolo Bagni railway [it] that closed in 1933. At the next station, Faenza, the railway interchanges with the Florence–Faenza railway and the Faenza–Ravenna railway [it].

The next station is Forlì, whose original railway station was relocated south in 1927. The line continues southeast past the stations of Villa Selva [it] (opened in 2009), Forlimpopoli-Bertinoro [it], Cesena, Gambettola [it], and Savignano sul Rubicone [it].

After passing Savignano, the line takes a southerly bearing, and curves on an easterly course before reaching the station of Santarcangelo di Romagna [it]. Here, the railway was intended to interchange with the Subappennine railway [it], a cancelled railway project that would have connected Santarcangelo to Fabriano via San Leo, Urbino, and Pergola. Past Santarcangelo, the line runs through Rimini Fiera, whose railway station opened in 2004, before turning southeast to reach Rimini railway station, where the line interchanges with the Ferrara–Rimini railway [it]. Rimini was also the terminus of two disused lines: the Rimini–Novafeltria railway, in operation between 1916 and 1960, which terminated at the adjacent Rimini Centrale [it]; and the Rimini–San Marino railway, which operated between 1932 and 1944.

Rimini to Ancona

After Rimini railway station, the line bears southeast parallel to the Adriatic Sea. It runs adjaent to Metromare, a segregated trolleybus rapid transit line between Rimini and Riccione that opened in 2019, with fifteen intermediate stops. Until the 1960s, the railway crossed the Torrente Ausa just south of Rimini's railway station: the Ausa was only diverted northwards to empty into the Marecchia in the 1960s.^[34] Rimini includes a locomotive depot with a workshop, likely established immediately after the railway's opening.^[15]

The line continues through the railway stations of Rimini Miramare, Riccione (opened 1891, replacing an 1862 temporary stop that was made permanent in 1865), Misano Adriatico [it] (opened 1949), and Cattolica-San Giovanni-Gabicce [it].

After crossing the border between Emilia-Romagna and the Marche, it used to stop at Gradara railway station [it]. The line reaches its maximum grade of 1.2% on the approach to the Cattolica tunnel.

The line continues through the railway stations of Pesaro and Fano [it], where it interchanged with the Fano–Urbino railway [it] that closed in 1987. It then passes through the railway stations of Marotta-Mondolfo [it] (relocated southwards in 1884), Senigallia [it], Marzocca [it] (opened in 1916; a station to its south, Marzocchetta [it], closed in 1948), and Montemarciano [it]. After crossing the Esino river, it meets the Rome–Ancona railway, and continues through the stations of Falconara Marittima [it], Palombina [it], and Ancona Torrette [it] (opened 2002), finally reaching Ancona. The Adriatic railway continues southwards towards Lecce.