It is on the Wimbledon branch of the District line, between Putney Bridge and Southfields, and is on the boundary between Travelcard Zones 2 and 3.

The extension was built by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR), which from 1 July 1889 ran its own trains over the line via connecting tracks from its Waterloo to Reading line at Point Pleasant Junction, just west of Wandsworth station (now Wandsworth Town), to East Putney.

Regular passenger services between Waterloo and Wimbledon through East Putney were ended by the Southern Railway (successor to the LSWR) on 4 May 1941, although the line remained in British Rail ownership until 1 April 1994 when it was sold to London Underground for the nominal sum of £1.

The route from Wandsworth Town to Wimbledon, including the connection between Point Pleasant Junction and East Putney (largely reduced to single track in 1990[7]), is still used by South Western Railway for empty stock movements and occasional service train diversions, as well as three daily SWR services which run to and from Waterloo via the route in the early hours of the morning (to maintain train crews' knowledge of the route) without stopping at East Putney.

South Western Railway continues to use the connection for empty stock movements and occasional train service diversions.