At the opening of the Hamm–Minden railway section of the Cologne-Minden Railway Company’s trunk line on 15 October 1847, Bielefeld station had only a temporary wooden building.
The first stone station building was completed in 1849.
It was rebuilt and enlarged in 1885.
The station at the time was far to the north of the city, because enough flat land was available there.
Southwest of the station, the line passes close to the old town, but is already rising to cross the Bielefeld Pass.
The almost one km between the old town and the station stimulated the development of public transport in Bielefeld.
In the coming decades, the residential and industrial development of the city extended to the station and eventually beyond.

In the first decades not all express train stopped in Bielefeld.
Minden as a seat of the provincial government and a fortress with a large garrison was more important to the government of Prussia than the industrial town of Bielefeld.

The number of passengers rose sharply, so that a new station building was required in Bielefeld.
The construction of today's entrance building began in 1907.
The Art Nouveau building with natural stone facades was opened on 1 May 1910.
In the west wing there was a waiting room for first and second class passengers and a waiting room for third and fourth class passengers, in the east wing rail offices and apartments for rail staff.
In the entrance hall there were a ticket office and a baggage counter.
The entrance building originally had an adjoining platform.
During the reconstruction of the Hamm–Minden line to four tracks between 1911 and 1917, six platform tracks were built on three platforms connected to the station building by passenger and baggage tunnels.
Until the beginning of the 21st century the platforms were hardly changed.
This means that track 1 runs directly alongside the station building and all the platforms are only accessible through the tunnel.
A freight terminal building, which was stylistically matched to the entrance building, but without its natural stone facades, was built on the north side of the station's tracks.

The heavy air raids on Bielefeld in September 1944 left the station almost undamaged so that the façade is virtually unchanged despite several modernisations of the building.
There is a memorial on the station forecourt in remembrance of the deportation of Jews to the extermination camps from Bielefeld station during the Nazi dictatorship.

In 1946 and 1947 Bielefeld station was the headquarters of the railways of the American and British occupation zone (Hauptverwaltung der Eisenbahnen des amerikanischen und britischen Besatzungsgebiets), from which Deutsche Bundesbahn emerged in 1949.
The last act of the Deutsche Bundesbahn, Generalbetriebsleitung (general management) West, Bielefeld was to publish the official winter timetable for the period from 2 October 1949 to 13 May 1950.

The importance of the station in the railway network was consolidated with the electrification of the Hamm–Hanover main line on 29 September 1968 and the introduction of the Intercity-Express connection between Cologne and Berlin in the 1990s, stopping in Bielefeld, with connections at regular-intervals with regional services.
At the opening of the Hamm–Minden railway section of the Cologne-Minden Railway Company’s trunk line on 15 October 1847, Bielefeld station had only a temporary wooden building. The first stone station building was completed in 1849. It was rebuilt and enlarged in 1885. The station at the time was far to the north of the city, because enough flat land was available there. Southwest of the station, the line passes close to the old town, but is already rising to cross the Bielefeld Pass. The almost one km between the old town and the station stimulated the development of public transport in Bielefeld. In the coming decades, the residential and industrial development of the city extended to the station and eventually beyond.
In the first decades not all express train stopped in Bielefeld. Minden as a seat of the provincial government and a fortress with a large garrison was more important to the government of Prussia than the industrial town of Bielefeld.
The number of passengers rose sharply, so that a new station building was required in Bielefeld. The construction of today's entrance building began in 1907. The Art Nouveau building with natural stone facades was opened on 1 May 1910. In the west wing there was a waiting room for first and second class passengers and a waiting room for third and fourth class passengers, in the east wing rail offices and apartments for rail staff. In the entrance hall there were a ticket office and a baggage counter. The entrance building originally had an adjoining platform. During the reconstruction of the Hamm–Minden line to four tracks between 1911 and 1917, six platform tracks were built on three platforms connected to the station building by passenger and baggage tunnels. Until the beginning of the 21st century the platforms were hardly changed. This means that track 1 runs directly alongside the station building and all the platforms are only accessible through the tunnel. A freight terminal building, which was stylistically matched to the entrance building, but without its natural stone facades, was built on the north side of the station's tracks.
The heavy air raids on Bielefeld in September 1944 left the station almost undamaged so that the façade is virtually unchanged despite several modernisations of the building. There is a memorial on the station forecourt in remembrance of the deportation of Jews to the extermination camps from Bielefeld station during the Nazi dictatorship.
In 1946 and 1947 Bielefeld station was the headquarters of the railways of the American and British occupation zone (Hauptverwaltung der Eisenbahnen des amerikanischen und britischen Besatzungsgebiets), from which Deutsche Bundesbahn emerged in 1949. The last act of the Deutsche Bundesbahn, Generalbetriebsleitung (general management) West, Bielefeld was to publish the official winter timetable for the period from 2 October 1949 to 13 May 1950.
The importance of the station in the railway network was consolidated with the electrification of the Hamm–Hanover main line on 29 September 1968 and the introduction of the Intercity-Express connection between Cologne and Berlin in the 1990s, stopping in Bielefeld, with connections at regular-intervals with regional services.
Bielefeld Hauptbahnhof