The station is served by Amtrak California Zephyr, Capitol Corridor, and Coast Starlight trains.

It is the primary stop for UC Davis and one of the busiest train stations in the region, serving over 10% of the total Capitol Corridor ridership.

[5] The line was built by the California Pacific Railroad between August 24 and November 15, 1868, connecting Davis to Washington (now part of West Sacramento) to the east, Vallejo to the southwest, and Marysville to the northeast via a wye at Davis to Woodland, where the line separated to go northwest to Redding via Tehama and northeast to Marysville via a drawbridge at Knights Landing.

In 1871 the Cal-P (as it later was called) was taken over by the Central Pacific Railroad; a fire later burned down the 19th century-style station.

In 1914 the Central Pacific built a second depot in the Mission Revival style, which was remodeled in 1986.