In Löhne, line branch off to Rheine via Osnabrück (part of the Hanoverian Western Railway to Emden) and to Elze via Hamelin (continuing to Hildesheim) and, as a result, the station was long an important junction in northwestern Germany as an interchange station with its own marshalling yard.

Until the mid-20th century, Löhne station was a major hub for passenger and especially freight traffic in north-western Germany.

For many years, long-distance trains crossed here on their way from Berlin to Paris via Hanover and Cologne and Amsterdam to central Germany via Osnabrück and Hildesheim.

The former marshalling yard has been demolished, but no use for the abandoned site has yet been found, so that it presents passengers with a large landscape of gravel.

The station acquired literary significance in Erich Maria Remarque's novel, All Quiet on the Western Front: during the movement of troops in the First World War, soldiers were always told by their superiors to change at Löhne.