Shipley is one of only two surviving "triangular" stations in the UK: it has platforms on all three sides of a triangle of lines.

[2][3] In 1847, the Leeds and Bradford Extension Railway was built from Shipley to Keighley and Skipton, creating the triangle of lines which surrounds today's station.

Most of the services through Shipley were under threat and hung in the balance until the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive adopted them in the 1970s.

All four of these adjacent stations have since been reopened: Baildon on 5 January 1973, Saltaire in April 1984, Frizinghall in 1987, and Apperley Bridge on 13 December 2015.

Platform 3, was also extended by 25m in separate project by the means of a steel framed cantilevered structure over the A657 road and the Bradford Beck.

The depot is located to the south of the station adjacent to the line towards Bradford Forster Square.

It was opened in 1993 by David Bellamy and is administered by Butterfly Conservation, Bradford Urban Wildlife Group and Leeds Groundwork Trust.

Vehicular access is from the side away from town, under the bridge and up a long cobbled drive from Briggate and there is a large car-park between the main station and platforms 1/2.

The station is fully staffed – the ticket office is open seven days per week and only closed in the evening.

The northbound Kings Cross to Skipton service is the only train that does not stop here for similar reasons (platform 2 also being too short for use by a full-length express).

From May 2025, seven LNER trains a day (Monday-Saturday) will call at Shipley to/from Bradford Forster Square.