The station has one low-level side platform with a mini-high section for accessibility serving the single track of the Needham Branch.

On June 1, 1853, the Charles River Branch Railroad was extended from Newton Upper Falls into Needham as the first stage of a line to Dover and beyond.

[1] The railroad was not able to follow its original plan to go through the East Village, Needham's historical center, because one landowner refused to sell.

The MBTA bought Penn Central's southside commuter rail assets, including the Needham Line, on January 27, 1973.

The mini-high platform was indefinitely closed on September 8, 2022, with a portable lift used for accessibility; it reopened by early November.