It is 22 miles 59 chains (36.6 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between Roydon and Harlow Mill stations.

Between March 1959 and July 1960 the station was rebuilt[2] to serve the post-war new town of Harlow, to designs by Paul Hamilton with John Bicknell and Ian Fraser of the British Railways (Eastern Region) architects department (chief architect: H. H. Powell).

Described by Pevsner as "low, crisp and entirely ungimmicky", its architectural quality was recognised in 1996 when it was made a Grade II listed building.

It is a building with powerful spatial qualities, of especial interest particularly for its architectural design".

Its status as a listed building has meant that alterations to conform with the Disability Discrimination Act have had to be carried out sensitively to protect the original architectural conception.