The station is the terminus of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Kalka–Shimla Railway.

Shimla railway station is located at an altitude of 2,075 metres (6,808 ft) above mean sea level.

[4] Originally, the walls of the station building were made of wood with a sloping galvanised iron roof, but due to the growth in traffic it was rebuilt and extended in 1921 with a new double storey brick masonry (plastered in lime mortar) building housing the offices of the station master, staff and control, accident relief arrangements, waiting rooms, telegraph office and shelters.

[4] In 1986–87 the station was redeveloped with end-to-end platform shelters, while the platform was resurfaced and various services refurbished or rebuilt such as the tourist information office, railway telephone exchange, platform ticketing office, reservation office while 10 new retiring rooms (each having large windows providing a valley view) were installed and a waiting hall provided on the ground floor.

This article about a railway station in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh is a stub.