The station was opened on 15 March 1844 with the Altenburg–Crimmitschau section by the Saxon-Bavarian Railway Company (Sächsisch-Baiersche Eisenbahn-Compagnie).

The demolition of the water tower, the freight shed as well as the north wing of the stately heritage-listed station building in Neo-Baroque style began in 2007.

Since then, the town has been trying to find a solution because the site belongs to Deutsche Bahn and it does not see any need for further action after the demolition.

Gößnitz station is also an important hub for east Thuringian and west Saxon passenger services.

From December 2011, the train continued from Glauchau to Chemnitz and connected the two Saxon centres with the long-distance service node of Erfurt.

The line S5 service has been running every hour since December 2015 from Halle via Leipzig/Halle Airport, Leipzig Hbf to Altenburg, and from here continuing via Gößnitz and Werdau to Zwickau.

A service using tilting diesel-multiple units of class 612 runs from Göttingen via Erfurt, Jena-Göschwitz, Gera and Gößnitz, continuing via Meerane to Glauchau.