The first Rutherglen station was opened on the Caledonian Railway's line to Glasgow on 1 June 1849,[2] or possibly 1842.

[citation needed] The side platforms existed beneath today's footbridge at the base of the triangular junction.

[3] Serving about 70 passenger trains daily, it was replaced on 31 March 1879 by the second one stretching below the Farmeloan Road bridge.

Passenger services to London Road station, that began 1 April 1879, ceased when the Glasgow Central Railway underground commenced on 1 November 1895.

[11] No longer accessible to the public, but still visible, the former WCML island platform was closed when the new one opened in the vicinity of the fourth station on 5 November 1979 for Argyle Line services along the former route via Dalmarnock.

Consequently, the DMU services on the Whifflet Line that terminated at Glasgow Central High Level bypassed the stop from 1979.

To create a pram friendly and a disability-compliant option,[13] the installation of a lift was completed in April 2009.

The level crossing at the opposite end is restricted to staff accessing the nearby First Engineering Training Centre.

[21] 1887: During dense fog, an eastbound passenger train collided with a stationary pilot engine 260 yards (238 m) east of the station.

[24] Months later, an express fatally struck an employee, who inattentively stepped from a goods van in the station vicinity.

[32] 1938: An axle failure on a westbound passenger train caused a derailment where the final coach mounted the platform and landed on its side.

[36] 1977: An express fatally struck a three-year-old boy who had wandered through a broken fence and fallen down an embankment onto the line.