The station is located in the Amsterdam borough of Slotervaart, on a long viaduct spanning three roads.

The station was built in 1986 when a link was constructed from Amsterdam Centraal to Schiphol Airport.

The new line reduced journey time from Centraal Station and Schiphol to as little as 16 minutes.

For its first 10 years, Intercity trains called at Lelylaan station, providing direct services to places as far away as Brussels, Berlin and Leeuwarden.

In 2006[citation needed] an intercity service Schiphol-Amsterdam Centraal-Lelystad was introduced, which also calls at Lelylaan.

In 1988 line 17 was extended to Osdorp as well, after it used to terminate at Surinameplein 1 km east of Lelylaan.