The station is located in Mangamutu, 1.7 kilometres (1.1 mi) west of Pahiatua, in contrast to the original plans for the railway line to run through the town.

When the station opened, Pahiatua was served by mixed trains that had were extended as the railway made its way north.

The Wellington and Manawatu Railway was purchased by the government in 1908, which had an effect on services provided in the Wairarapa, particularly the section of the line north of Masterton.

A new passenger service was provided from 1936 with the introduction of the Wairarapa-class railcars, which supplemented and later replaced the Wairarapa Mail in 1948.

[4] The Engineer-in-Chief of the Public Works Department reported in his annual statement of 31 March 1896 that the formation of the Wairarapa Line between Newman and Woodville was nearly complete.

The public amenities were also considered to be inadequate, but it was not until the station was replaced that modern ablution facilities were provided.

It was not until 1963 that money was set aside for the renovations in the working estimates, by which time the District Engineer was in favour of replacing the building.

The Ways and Works Branch were requested to have the old station building removed and the site tidied up prior to this time.

[6] Prime Minister Sir Keith Holyoake officially opened the station, with around 100 guests and members of the public in attendance.

Special guests included Colonel W. R. Burge, son of Pahiatua's first stationmaster; past station masters, including J. Weston; W. W. Day, chairman of the Pahiatua County Council; T. M. Small, Deputy General Manager of the Railways; and the mayor, J. L. Terry.

For seven years from 27 November 1988, the northern section of the Wairarapa Line was effectively mothballed,[8] with no trains scheduled through Pahiatua.

[8] Following the daylighting of Tunnels 3, 4, 5 on the Palmerston North - Gisborne Line in the third quarter of 2008, and thus the removal of the impediment to running hi-cube containers through the Manawatū Gorge,[9] the Wellington – Napier freight services were diverted to their original route from late 2008.