The line runs through the valley of the Kirnitzsch river in Saxon Switzerland, from the town of Bad Schandau up to the Lichtenhain Waterfall, in the municipality of Sebnitz.

The line is principally a tourist service, being the only tramway to serve a National Park in Germany, and uses historical rolling stock built between 1925 and 1968.

The remainder of the line, to Kirnitzschschänke, was never built for economic reasons, and service was initially limited to the summer months.

The initial vehicle fleet comprised six enclosed motorcars and six open trailers, which were built by Busch in Bautzen.

In 1928, a new fleet of five motorcars and six trailers built by MAN were put into service and the Lößnitz Tramway cars were returned to Radebeul.

It largely escaped any damage during the Second World War and operation resumed on 7 June 1945, but by the end of the 1960s the line was in increasingly poor condition, with several derailments.

On 23 June 1969, the line was truncated by approximately 350 metres (1,150 ft) at the Bad Schandau end, because of increasing traffic congestion in the town.

Between October 1993 and May 1994, the line underwent extensive construction work, including rebuilds of the depot and the Lichtenhainer Wasserfall stop.

The depot was flooded as high as the tram floors, causing damage to the cars' motors, gears and axles.

The line did not operate again until Easter 2011, and when it reopened it was curtailed to Beuthenfall as a retaining wall on the approach to the Lichtenhain Waterfall terminus had to be rebuit.

[2][3][4][11] Principally a tourist service, the line transports passengers to the waterfall and to a number of access points for hiking, including along the Malerweg or Painters' Way [de].

[12] The line is unusual in that it is mostly "gutter running", a type of track layout once common on rural tramways in Germany.

[3][17] Although RVSOE is a member of the Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe (VVO), that organisation's common fare structure does not apply to the Kirnitzschtal Tramway, reflecting its predominantly tourist nature.

On the parallel stretch, bus service varies from half-hourly, on summer weekends, to a few journeys a day, on winter weekdays.