The name is derived from the Ancient Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II, whose statue was erected by Nasser on the square there in 1955.

The film's original title, The Iron Gate (Arabic: باب الحديد Bāb al-Ḥadīd), is a name by which the station is popularly known.

Outside of the station used to be the statue of Ramses II that was relocated to the area of Giza on 25 August 2006, in preparation for its eventual installation in the Grand Egyptian Museum.

The famous sculpture of Mahmoud Mokhtar, Nahdat Misr (Egypt's Awakening), was originally installed outside the station in 1928, but was removed to its current location near Cairo University in the 1950s.

[4] Ramses Station is served by the vast majority of Egyptian National Railways' intercity passenger services.