It was the terminus of the former Hofpleinlijn (Hofplein line) which ran trains between Rotterdam and Scheveningen, and were later curtailed to The Hague central station.

Hofplein station was opened on 1 October 1908 by the Zuid-Hollandsche Electrische Spoorweg-Maatschappij.

The viaduct (also called the De Hofbogen) was the first major reinforced concrete construction in the Netherlands and is probably the longest (1,9 km) Rijksmonument (since 2002).

When Hofplein station closed on 3 June 2006 for conversion of the Hofpleinlijn to RandstadRail it had one island platform, of which only one side was still in operation.

On 10 September 2006 Hofplein re-opened as a temporary RandstadRail station on line E. A new line E tunnel between Melanchthonweg and Rotterdam Centraal opened on 17 August 2010, and Hofplein station was then closed permanently.