The station was opened on 15 May 1847 on the trunk line of the former Cologne-Minden Railway Company (Cöln-Mindener Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, CME).

Even the offer of a subsidy of 2,000 Prussian thalers failed to persuade the CME to change its route because it wanted to avoid hills where possible, running roughly along the course of the Emscher.

As a result of this rejection, the city of Essen later spent over 16,000 thalers to establish a road connecting to Altenessen station.

[4][5] A nearly two-kilometre long line the station connected via Helene junction to Essen-Stoppenberg was opened on 27 April 1874.

[10] In the Second World War there was a slave labour camp of the railway division (Reichsbahndirektion) of Essen/Ruhr at the station for 27 French prisoners.

[11] Heavy air raids in October 1944 destroyed the railway tracks, stopping train operations run through Altenessen.