A bay platform was provided at Polmont for use by branch trains, though it wasn't until 1933 that services began running there - prior to that they had used a bi-level station further east at Manuel.

The branch passenger service was withdrawn by the British Transport Commission on 7 May 1956, but it remained in use for freight until 1975 and has since been reopened as the heritage Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway.

The station gained a (somewhat unwanted) place in British railway history in the mid-1980s, as it was near here that the Polmont rail accident occurred in July 1984.

13 people died and more than 60 were injured when an Edinburgh to Glasgow express derailed at speed in a cutting just west of the junction, after colliding with a cow that had escaped from a field adjacent to the line (through damaged fencing) and wandered onto the track.

[3] Previously, there was services to Glasgow Queen Street via Cumbernauld, and a daily return peak time service to Fife (from Kirkcaldy in the morning, returning to Markinch in the evening).