In 1836, a committee of Commissioners was appointed by the British Government to identify a system of rail routes throughout Ireland which would best serve the interests of the country as a whole.

[6] In their report of 1838, Kingsbridge, or 'King's Bridge', was selected as the optimum location for a terminus in Dublin which would most conveniently serve a main trunk railway line to the southern and western districts of Ireland.

[6] In a series of pamphlets, the promoters of a proposed rail link to Cashel, County Tipperary argued that Kingsbridge was the better choice for a Dublin terminus over a competing proposal for a Portobello terminus, due to it being conveniently located next to the quays, Smithfield cattle market, hay and straw markets, wool and butter cranes, woollen, cotton, iron and leather warehouses, the Linenhall area, as well as sites of strategic military importance such as the Royal Barracks.

[6] On 28 October 1845 the Great Southern and Western Railway Company bought a site in Dublin adjoining the Military Road, and another parcel of ground, from the Right Honorable Henry John Lord Viscount Palmerston for £1,600.

[a] In December 1845 the GS&WR began advertising for tenders for building the Kingsbridge railway terminus on the land they had recently bought.

[6] The station opened on 4 August 1846 as the terminus and headquarters of the Great Southern and Western Railway with the Freeman's Journal describing how "carriages of all classes were densely crowded with passengers, thus giving early evidence of the vast traffic which is likely to accrue on the line when in full and perfect operation".

[6] Trains were scheduled to take about 2hr 35min for the 56 mi (90 km) stretch to Carlow from where conventional mail coach connections could carry passengers onwards to Kilkenny, Clonmel, Waterford or Cork.

[1] Regarding the architectural merits of the passenger terminal, historian Maurice Craig described it thus: "a delightful building, a renaissance palazzo, gay and full-blooded, with fruity swags and little domed towers on the wings, a thoroughgoing formal composition, excellently articulated".

A 2018 consultation paper for the proposed Dublin MetroLink project included a reference to a potential future station, labelled "Heuston West", with connections via the Phoenix Park Tunnel to Cabra.

To the north of the stop, trams cross the River Liffey on the Seán Heuston Bridge, which was refurbished as part of the Luas construction.