On 15 November 1858, the Chemnitz–Zwickau section was opened as part of the Riesa–Chemnitz–Zwickau route of the Niedererzgebirgische Staatsbahn (Lower Ore Mountains State Railway).

By the time construction of this line started in 1859, rail engineers had acquired experience with steep haul operations on such inclines as the Schiefe Ebene and the Geislinger Steige.

Ultimately, it was decided to build the shorter but more expensive route through Oederan, which had a steep ramp section and required the construction of several large viaducts.

On 1 April 1869 the Freiberg–Chemnitz section was opened, so that for the first time a connection existed between the eastern and the Western Royal Saxon State Railways in Saxony.

Instead of a proposal that had gained favour that included a complicated southern detour with three tunnels that were each about 1 km-long, an upgrade of the existing marshalling yard was carried out.

As the ability of the important line to handle traffic was considerably reduced, the second track was restored on some sections in Dresden and Chemnitz by the early 1950s.

Nevertheless, the line did not achieve the same importance as it did before the Second World War, since the division of Germany after 1945 meant that most traffic now ran in the north–south direction.

After the re-electrification of the network in Central Germany, the electrification of the so-called Sächsisches Dreieck (Saxon triangle: the Dresden–Werdau, Leipzig–Dresden and Leipzig–Zwickau lines) was one of the most important investment projects of Deutsche Reichsbahn.

The overhead was opened between 1963 and 1966 in sections starting from Werdau: The possible travel time reductions were put into full effect in the winter 1966/67 timetable.

Even more significant reductions in travel time for freight trains resulted from the discontinuation of bank engine operations between Flöha and Oederan.

[12] In the mid-1980s, the Hetzdorf Viaduct over the Flöha valley in the distinct of Mittelsachsen, which dated from the opening of that section of the line, had reached the end of its service life.

[18][19] From the beginning of 2010 to December 2013, the approximately 490 m-long underpass running under Dresdner Platz in Chemnitz that is used by the parallel tracks of the Dresden–Werdau and Chemnitz–Adorf railways, was replaced at a cost of €25 million.

[21] The route leaves Dresden Hauptbahnhof and runs to a triangular junction (where lines branch off to Dresden-Neustadt) and turns south past the rail museum in the former Dresden-Altstadt depot.

From Dresden-Plauen station it runs to Freital through the narrow valley of the Weißeritz (known as the Plauenscher Grund) and crosses Autobahn 17.

Niederwiesa, the second last stop before Chemnitz Hauptbahnhof for regional trains, is the beginning of a branch line to Hainichen.

Chemnitz-Hilbersdorf station used to be the site of an important rail depot and one of the largest marshalling yards in Saxony; it is now closed.

The line passes through the town of Mosel, which is the location of a Volkswagen factory, and crosses the four-lane federal highway B 93 (and B 175).

After 1990, freight traffic collapsed completely, with the only major transport activity recorded during the construction of the Dresden World Trade Center.

[30] In 1913, a narrow-gauge connecting track was established, which was used for freight transport and the exchange of rolling stock with the Weißeritz Valley Railway (Weißeritztalbahn).

The narrow-gauge line towards Wilsdruff was shut down in 1972, since which the maintenance of Weißeritz Valley Railway rolling stock has only been carried out in Freital-Potschappel.

The station had a great importance in commuter traffic until the turn of the century due to the founding of the steelworks in Döhlen, also in 1855, where up to 5,000 people were employed.

In order to cope with the steep gradient up to Klingenberg-Colmnitz, most of the trains received an additional bank or pilot locomotive.

Although initially located on an open field where the Oberschöna–Frankenstein road crossed the line, several businesses were established in the immediate vicinity of the station.

Chemnitz-Hilbersdorf (50°51′40″N 12°57′08″E / 50.8612°N 12.9521°E / 50.8612; 12.9521) The marshalling yard, which was urgently needed to relieve Chemnitz Hauptbahnhof from freight traffic, was built between 1896 and 1902 at the location of the first Hilbersdorf station.

Since the 1990s, its importance has been greatly diminished by the general drop in traffic, loss of long-distance services and the closure of some lines.

Chemnitz-Schönau (50°49′05″N 12°52′35″E / 50.8181°N 12.8764°E / 50.8181; 12.8764) The halt has had four different names during its operations: The station was opened in 1940, mainly for commuter traffic to the numerous industrial enterprises along this section of the line.

In addition to the delivery of components to the nearby Volkswagen works, the busy connecting line to this plant also starts in Mosel.

Only two years later a new track alignment was completed and the now nationalised line no longer approached the Hauptbahnhof from the west, instead it ran from the east.

Oktober” halt, which was not open to the public, only served the railway establishments of the marshalling yard and the workshop and was not listed in the timetable.

[49] In addition, numerous Regionalbahn services, particularly between Dresden and Zwickau and between Chemnitz and Flöha (and continuing towards Pockau-Lengefeld and Annaberg-Buchholz).