From Schöna, it runs along the Elbe on the Elbe Valley Railway through the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, through Bad Schandau and past  Königstein Fortress to Pirna. There it leaves the immediate bank of the Elbe and runs through Heidenau and southeastern Dresden almost straight to Dresden Hauptbahnhof.
This passage describes a railway route that starts in Schöna and ends at Dresden Hauptbahnhof, traversing the Elbe Valley Railway, the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, and passing through several towns along its path.