The station has a great importance as a hub for local and long-distance transport due to its location on the line from the Ruhr area to Warburg and Kassel, as well as to Holzminden–Kreiensen, Hanover and Herford.

Former semi-fast and express services from Osnabrück, Bielefeld or Bremen via Altenbeken, Kassel and Bebra and to southern Germany were eliminated one by one.

Through trains run to Bielefeld via Lage and the Bega Valley Railway via Oerlinghausen, where there is a connection to Münster.

Since the timetable change in December 2010, daily pairs of Intercity-Express trains run to and from Dresden and Munich.

A total of four lines leave the station in an easterly direction and the only westerly route runs over the Altenbeken Viaduct towards Paderborn.