Royal Park station opened on 9 September 1884, when the railway line was extended from North Melbourne to Coburg.

On opening, only temporary station buildings were provided, along with a signal box and gatekeepers cottage.

[5] On 8 May 1888, Royal Park became a junction, with the opening of the Inner Circle line, to both Clifton Hill and Northcote.

[4] It opened with a tile roof in the "Gisborne style" and, in 1936, a new waiting shed and ticket office replaced earlier structures on Platform 2.

[6] In 1981, the Inner Circle line (by then a goods-only stub to Fitzroy) was closed and, in 1989, the waiting shed on Platform 2 was destroyed by arson.