Running through a valley in a high-amenity rural area, the line is used by tourists and for commuter transport by local people.

However at that time two diesel locomotives and some transporter wagons were acquired and the Zillertalbahn became the first railway in Austria to use "Zugfunk"—train control by radio.

In 1976 extraction of magnesium ore from Tux came to an end; this traffic had been an important source of income for the line since 1928.

In 2010 the annual freight traffic amounted to 320,000 tonnes, predominantly in connection with the forest products industry.

1.54 million passengers were carried in that year, a half-hourly service (of train and bus journeys combined) being introduced.

In July 2019 the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway announced that it had signed a contract with the Zillertalbahn to hire newly overhauled U-class 0-6-2T locomotive, No.

[2] In 2018, the ZVB unveiled its plans to move away from the ageing diesel trainsets in favour of hydrogen-powered units by 2025.