It is primarily used as a depot for the storage and maintenance of passenger train sets used for long-distance traffic.

A Schmid peoplemover was established in June 2007 to provide barrier-free access instead of a conventional lift because of a lack of space.

In 1902, the Lower Silesian-Markish Railway was rebuilt with four tracks, with the northern pair reserved for suburban traffic.

There was also a station on the suburban tracks, which was initially reserved for workers at the carriage depot.

Since 11 June 1928, the suburban trains have been operated electrically and since 1 December 1930, the services have been branded as the "S-Bahn".

The Welthauptstadt Germania plans of the Nazis envisaged a major expansion of the railway infrastructure in Rummelsburg to serve as a point for marshalling trains for a new Ostbahnhof (“East station”) to be built at Ostkreuz.

The infrastructure was co-financed by West Germany under an intra-German Transit Agreement that came into force after 1972.