The Swanage Railway follows the route of the former London and South Western Railway line from Wareham to Swanage, a line that opened in 1885 and was closed by British Rail in 1972.

The station opened as a simple wooden platform construction which took two coaches, which has now been dismantled and replaced with a concrete platform recovered from the old Woodside railway station.

The station reopened on Good Friday 2009 – 25 years after the original opening.

Services run every day from the beginning of April to late October, with weekend only operation in March, November and December.

Northbound, trains operate to stations at Harman's Cross, Corfe Castle, and Norden (also on special occasions to Wareham).