The station was opened as a halt in the outskirts of the Landgemeinde (rural municipality) of Niederschöneweide on 24 May 1868 on the Berlin–Görlitz railway.

As Niederschöneweide and Oberschöneweide were industrialising rapidly, a particularly high number of railways were built in the district.

The long-distance trains serving the stations (as distinct from halts) on the Görlitz line in Berlin (Baumschulenweg, Schöneweide, Adlershof and Grünau) were gradually rerouted to Lichtenberg.

The long-distance tracks connecting the station and central Berlin were closed as a result of the widening of the adjacent federal highway 96a to six lanes.

Due to the need to rehabilitate a bridge at Ostkreuz station, regional trains, which had begun or ended at Lichtenberg, were moved to Schöneweide.

The Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn service OE 36 trains from Frankfurt (Oder) via Königs Wusterhausen, which formerly terminated at Schöneweide, now run directly to Lichtenberg.