A first station, built according to plans designed by Friedrich Bürklein, was inaugurated on 1 May 1871 as part of the newly built railway line to Neuötting via Mühldorf am Inn. The line to Rosenheim opened on 15 October 1871. Initially named "Haidhausen" after the eponymous quarter, it received its present name "München Ost" on 15 October 1876. The station was given additional significance as a railway hub with the opening of the Munich East–Deisenhofen line in 1898; followed by train connections to Ismaning and Schwabing in 1909, the first to be electrified in 1927.