Folkestone West was opened on 1 November 1863 as Shorncliffe Camp,[1] initially with two platform faces either side of double track.

Sometime around 1887 a bay was added to the down platform as from 1887 to 1947 the station served as the southern terminus and interchange for the Elham Valley Railway with services to Canterbury.

The station was altered during the 1960–61 Kent Coast Electrification as the line from Folkestone Central to near the site of Cheriton Junction was quadrupled.

Following the opening of the Channel Tunnel and the loss of the boat train traffic, in 1994 the two centre tracks were removed.

[5] in 2024, the UK leg of the Orient Express ended altogether, with passengers now required to join the train in Paris.