The Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley, Wakefield, Huddersfield & Goole Railway was formed in 1846 with the aim of providing access to the South Yorkshire coalfield.

On 1 July 1854, the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) opened a line from Penistone to Barnsley.

[3] Barnsley Court House station closed on 19 April 1960, following the commissioning of a new chord line south of the town near Quarry Junction that linked the former SYR route down the Blackburn Valley with the ex-Midland Railway line from Sheffield Midland, allowing services on the latter route to serve the station (and continue northwards to Wakefield & Leeds).

[3] South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive rebuilt the station in 2007 to improve interchange with bus services, and the redesign won a Civic Building award.

There are a number of shops a short walk over the footbridge to the bus station, these include a newsagents, Lloyds Pharmacy, Coopland Bakery and a Subway restaurant.

Two are express services, calling only at Wakefield Kirkgate en route to Leeds whilst the third is an all-stations local that runs via Castleford.

Several shops occupy retail units within the interchange, including Lloyd's Pharmacy, GT News, Cowpuccino Espresso Bar, Cooplands and a Subway.

Work has since been completed on the link road, Schwäbisch Gmünd Way (formerly Interchange Way), which was renamed in honour of Barnsley's twin town in Germany.