Bielefeld Hauptbahnhof is the main station in the region of Ostwestfalen-Lippe, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

In the coming decades, the residential and industrial development of the city extended to the station and eventually beyond.

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.

This means that track 1 runs directly alongside the station building and all the platforms are only accessible through the tunnel.

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.

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.

At the beginning of the 21st century the old freight yard to the north of the line was demolished to make room for an entrance and exit of the Ostwestfalendamm expressway and the Neue Bahnhofsviertel (new station district).

The construction included the widening and extension of the pedestrian tunnel to the north and the provision of barrier-free access to existing platforms and to the heritage-listed station building.

But after the bankruptcy of the general contractor, construction work was suspended due to unresolved financial issues for a period of 17 months.

The dining establishments, nightclubs, spa and leisure facilities benefit from the direct access to the station.

Nevertheless, the central bus transfer point in Bielefeld is located at Jahnplatz (a stadbahn stop away), where buses run in all directions.