The station was opened by the Great North of Scotland Railway on 20 September 1854,[3] with the commissioning of the line from the original Waterloo terminus in Aberdeen.

[citation needed] The track was doubled in 1896, when a non-stop train from Aberdeen was speeded up to a 45-minute schedule for the 40+3⁄4 mi (65.6 km), though it ceased when the overnight London express was slowed later that year.

[5] The original station building, which had an overall roof[5] and was described in 1898 as, "a decent structure of the old fashioned 'roofed-over' type",[6] was later demolished and replaced.

A pay phone and post box are available, along with shelters on each platform and toilets in the booking hall (the latter open only when the station is staffed).

Train running information is offered via customer help points, CIS displays, automatic announcements and timetable posters.