On the journey from Bad Steben to Hof the engine driver ran into a tree that had fallen across the track near the Oberklingensporn halt.

Selbitz is a crossing station for trains on the line which, since 9 December 2007, have operated an hourly service (actually alternating every 53 or 67 minutes).

The branch line from the upper Selbitz valley, from Schauenstein, Helmbrechts and Münchberg, used to form a junction here; an old stone bridge and the large station yard serve as lingering reminders.

From Naila, the line follows the Selbitz valley to Marxgrün, which marked the end of the first stage of construction when the railway was built.

The railway reaches the halt at Oberklingensporn in the Selbitz valley by the LIBA Maschinenfabrik factory and passes a sewage farm on the left.

Opposite the station building is still the picturesque, two-road locomotive shed with its attached workshop and water feed (Wasserspeicher).

Shortly before the halt at Höllental the railway reaches the Stebenbach and follows it along the car-free valley to its terminal station in the Bavarian state spa town of Bad Steben.

As part of DB Regio Oberfranken's "Porcelain and Spa Train" (Porzellan- and Bäderzug) campaign in the early 2000s, Class 614 railcars worked the line.

The route was declared to be part of the Upper Franconian Diesel Network run by the Bavarian Railway Company (Bayerische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft) on 8 February 2008, which is due to be launched on 12 June 2011 with new stock and improved services.

The towns and communities hope that by increasing the number of stops en route and by building higher platforms, that more passengers will use the line and that it will become more accessible for disabled people.