Zwickau–Schwarzenberg railway

By 1900, parts of the line had been rebuilt for two-track operations. Between Hartenstein and Aue the old single-track line was abandoned completely and replaced by a new straightened realignment.

The second track was dismantled in 1946 for reparations to the Soviet Union as a result of World War II. In 1946, the Soviet Wismut company started uranium mining in the Ore Mountain and the line quickly achieved a prominent role for the removal of milled uranium ores and in carrying commuter traffic to the newly established mine shafts. The line was a single-track until 1948, when the second track was restored.

Until 1990, express trains operated on the line. Notably there was a daily service between Aue and Berlin. In the 1960s, there was a fast train service with through coaches from Berlin to Cranzahl on the line.

Today the line is mainly served by Regionalbahn trains of the Erzgebirgsbahn on the Zwickau–Johanngeorgenstadt route. Freight transport still operates, but is insignificant in contrast to the past.

Despite falling market share in the 1990s, the importance of the route for transport in the western Ore Mountains was undisputed. In 1999/2000 a comprehensive rehabilitation program began with the goal of significantly increasing operating speeds. Between Aue and Schwarzenberg, the line was rebuilt as a single-track line on the two-track subgrade in order to widen the narrow curves. As the enlargement of the Schlema tunnel to meet modern clearances would have been very expensive, the track on this section was also singled. Original plans called for a single track between Zwickau and Schlema. This was not realized for operational reasons, however, especially since the establishment of stations with crossing loops would have been very expensive.

A line opened in 1859 serving the mountain town of Schneeberg from Schlema unterer (lower) station. Because of the mining of uranium under the line by the Soviet Wismut company, the branch line closed about 1950 for safety reasons. The remainder of the line to Oberschlema closed in 1990 and was subsequently demolished.

Since 1872, the line has connected to the Chemnitz–Aue–Adorf line via Aue station. The line from Chemnitz to Aue is line now integrated as the Zwönitz Valley Railway (Zwönitztalbahn) in the network of the Erzgebirgsbahn company. Construction of the Eibenstock dam in 1975 severed the line to Adorf and since the mid-1990s the remainder of the line to Blauenthal has not operated.

The line was extended from Schwarzenberg to Johanngeorgenstadt (Schwarzenberg–Johanngeorgenstadt line) in 1883 and to Annaberg in 1889 (Annaberg-Buchholz–Schwarzenberg line). Both lines are still in operation. However, the line to Annaberg-Buchholz has had no scheduled passenger traffic since 1997 and only freight traffic to Grünstädtel.

A narrow gauge line opened in 1881 from Wilkau-Haßlau to Kirchberg, which was later extended through the ridges of the Ore Mountains to Carlsfeld. This was longest narrow gauge railway in Saxony until it ceased operation in 1973.

• Preuß, Erich; Preuß, Rainer (1991). Sächsische Staatseisenbahnen (in German). Berlin: transpress Verlagsgesellschaft mbH. ISBN 3-344-70700-0.