The line extends the Chomutov–Vejprty/Reitzenhain railway at Vejprty (Weipert), crossing the Czech-German border and running via Cranzahl to Annaberg-Buchholz.

[3] On 29 September 1869, Austria-Hungary concluded a treaty with the Kingdom of Saxony for the realisation of a "rail connection to the Bohemian-Saxon border near Weipert, Georgswalde and Warnsdorf".

[5] Operations were taken over by the Royal Saxon State Railways (Königlich Sächsische Staatseisenbahnen) using its own resources in return for 50 per cent of gross revenue.

The Buschtěhrad Railway owned the section within Austria-Hungary from Weipert to the border, which was operated on lease.

The oil crisis of 1981 and the relocation of wagonload traffic from Jöhstadt to Bärenstein due to the closure of the Wolkenstein–Jöhstadt narrow-gauge railway led to the abandonment of this plan.

[6][7] The line gained a new lease of life as a result of the political upheaval in East Germany and in Czechoslovakia in 1989 and 1990.

It was hoped to restore passenger services from the timetable change in June 1991 on three cross-border routes between Saxony and Bohemia, including between Vejprty and Bärenstein.

In June 1992, the Saxon Ministry of Industry finally allocated DM 250,000 to carry out the necessary repairs to the bridge.

The reconstruction of the bridge was finally funded under the EU Phare program and implemented between 14 April and 24 August 1997.

All passenger services on the line are currently operated by Siemens Desiro diesel multiple units (class 642).

In Saxony, the line initially follows an artificial water channel (Kunstgraben), which was built in the 16th century and called the Annaberger Floßgraben [de].

In Königswalde upper station the line crosses the watershed to the Sehma valley in a deep cutting and then descends its eastern flank running to the southwest to Cranzahl.

Since 1889, the Annaberg-Buchholz–Schwarzenberg railway has branched off from Buchholz (now Annaberg-Buchholz Süd) station as a secondary line connecting towards Aue and Zwickau.