The station is 7 miles (11 km) south-east of Manchester Piccadilly on the Buxton Line.

It was opened by the Stockport, Disley and Whaley Bridge Railway on 1 March 1858, as a result of a complaint from Colonel William Davenport, a local landowner, that the company had not honoured its initial promise to provide a station at Bramhall Lane (which was, at that time, just outside the boundary of Stockport Borough).

Waiting shelters are provided at platform level on each side, whilst train running information is offered by means of CIS displays and timetable posters.

Sunday services operate hourly in each direction between Manchester Piccadilly and Buxton.

[2] Services on the Hope Valley Line to/from Chinley or Sheffield pass through the station but do not stop; these are operated by Northern and TransPennine Express.