It is served by the Adirondack, Berkshire Flyer, Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express, Lake Shore Limited, and Maple Leaf.

It was relocated south a year later to resolve a dispute with the Rhinecliff–Kingston ferry; the village of Rhinecliff grew around the new location.

NYC passenger service declined in the mid-20th century; the east platform was removed after the line was reduced to two tracks in 1962.

It has a single low-level island platform, 520 feet (160 m) long, between the two tracks of the CSX Hudson Subdivision.

[3] At the north end of the platform, a footbridge with elevators and stairs connects to the station building on the east side of the tracks.

At the south end, a footbridge with stairs connects to a small park on the west and Shatzell Avenue on the east.

[3] The station building is located on the north side of Hutton Street adjacent to its overpass crossing the tracks.

[6][7][8] The exterior is tan brick in Flemish bond with arched windows and a light stone cornice.

[10] This arrangement proved highly inconvenient to railroad passengers, who were forced to walk down the track or take a longer detour on roads if the ferry went to Long Dock, and thus often missed their trains.

These issues were intentional on the part of brothers William and Charles Handy Russell, who owned the ferry as well as significant stock in the railroad.

After a year of maneuvering by the Russells and their manager Thomas Cornell, the railroad's board of directors voted on October 8, 1852, to relocate the station to Shatzell's Dock.

[13]: 10  Freight service began in stages as construction proceeded eastward; the line fully opened between Slate Dock and Boston Corners on April 4, 1875.

[14] In 1875, the railroad built a short extension south from Slate Dock along the east side of the NYC&HR to Rhinecliff.

[14] Later that year, the R&C built a new spur to reach Slate Dock without crossing the Hudson River Railroad at grade.

It split off from the mainline north of Rhinecliff, passed over the Hudson River Railroad on a trestle, and sloped down to reach the dock.

[20] The aging station proved inadequate for the increased traffic; in 1877, a local newspaper likened it to a rookery.

The H&CW was leased by the Central New England and Western Railroad in 1889, forming a mainline running from Campbell Hall, New York, to Hartford, Connecticut.

[23]: 23 [13]: 13  The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad obtained control of the CNE in 1904, though it largely continued to operate independently.

[18] In June 1912, the New York Public Service Commission ordered that the Shatzell Avenue grade crossing be closed.

A new road bridge was to be built at Hutton Street, about 500 feet (150 m) to the north, with a footbridge at Shatzell Avenue.

Due to the influence of wealthy Rhinebeck residents John Jacob Astor IV and Levi P. Morton, it was unusually large for a hamlet the size of Rhinecliff.

[37][38] The portion of the line between Poughkeepsie and Barrytown was further reduced to two tracks in November 1962 with the activation of centralized traffic control.

[51] In 1994, Metro-North Railroad proposed to extend its Hudson Line commuter service to Rhinecliff from Poughkeepsie.

The county had confiscated the title to the station building property in 2001 over Amtrak's nonpayment of the taxes, which the railroad is normally exempt from.

[2][3] The station building closed on December 9, 2022, for a two-year renovation including plumbing repairs, elevator replacement, and bathroom improvements.