Situated 8 miles (13 km) south-west of Leeds on the main line to Huddersfield and Manchester, the station was opened by the London and North Western Railway in 1848.

[3] The former Southport trains now terminate at Wigan, whilst the TPE services now run through to Hull eastbound and Manchester Piccadilly westbound.

The station was at one time rather larger than it is today, as it was also served by the Great Northern Railway branch line from Bradford to Wakefield via Dewsbury Central from December 1864 to 7 September 1964, when it fell victim to the Beeching Axe.

In June 2018, a protest was held by Batley and Spen MP Tracy Brabin following weeks of disruption to its services after Northern announced the roll out of a new timetable.

[7] In 2023, Network Rail announced plans to replace the Lady Anne level crossing with a footbridge, and to demolish the signal box, as part of a programme of work to upgrade the TransPennine Line.