In 1861 the Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway was given authorisation to build a line along Cardigan Bay between Aberystwyth and Porthdinllaen on the Llŷn Peninsula.

Prior to the closure of the Afon Wen to Caernarfon Line in 1964, there were two named daily express services during the summer between Pwllheli and London: In 1977 one side of the island platform was abandoned and the track was lifted (the land is now a car park).

Train running information is offered by means of digital display screens, automated announcements, timetable poster boards and a customer help point.

In November 2013, services from the station were suspended due to structural problems with the 1867 Grade II-listed wooden viaduct at Pont Briwet near Llandecwyn.

Network Rail had intended to build the new bridge alongside the current one whilst keeping the latter open, but work to drive steel piles into the riverbed to support the new viaduct caused the old one to shift and made it unsafe.

As a result, the train service north of Harlech had to be temporarily withdrawn whilst construction work continued and did not resume until the new bridge was ready.