The Severn Beach Line declined over the latter half of the twentieth century, with passenger numbers falling significantly.

The station is located in the Shirehampton district of Bristol, a primarily residential area on the north bank of the River Avon near the Severn Estuary.

The line, which is not electrified, handles less than 5 million train tonnes per year, has a loading gauge of W6 and a route availability of 7.

This was an increase of 34% from the 2002–03 financial year, and reflected a general rise in usage of the Severn Beach Line.

The route was 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge single track, with Shirehampton initially the second station along the line, 3 miles 51 chains (5.9 km) from the southern terminus at Hotwells.

[2][16][17]: 23–24  Shirehampton was the BPRP's headquarters, and was the site where construction of the railway began – the first sod being turned on 19 February 1863 by the Mayoress of Bristol, Mrs Sholto Vere Hare.

[17]: 5 The original station was situated at a passing loop, with a single platform on the north side of the line.

With no prospect of a proper dock being funded without a connection to the national rail network, the Clifton Extension Railway (CER) was approved.

[17]: 49  From 1 September 1885, when passenger services along the link finally started, the Great Western offered six trains per day each direction between Avonmouth and Bristol Temple Meads.

[17]: 49 During the First World War, an Army Remount Service depot was located nearby, with Shirehampton station handling the goods traffic, with up to 60 wagons per day inbound, mostly containing hay and sawdust for the horses.

Twelve wagons of manure were dispatched each day, some to Cadbury Road on the Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Light Railway.

[17]: 24 After the war, construction of the Bristol Portway along the Avon Gorge necessitated the closure of the line from Sneyd Park Junction to Hotwells, with trains along it ceasing on 3 July 1922.

To compensate for the loss of service, the Great Western provided an additional four trains daily towards Bristol and six toward Avonmouth.

A year later in 1963, the Beeching report suggested the complete withdrawal of services along the line, but ultimately only those beyond Severn Beach or via Henbury were withdrawn.

[19] British Rail was split into business-led sectors in the 1980s, at which time operations at Shirehampton passed to Regional Railways.

[18]: 42 When the railway was privatised in 1997, local services were franchised to Wales & West, which was succeeded by Wessex Trains, an arm of National Express, in 2001.

[20][21] Following action by Friends of Severn Beach Railway (FOSBR) and a string of protests, services had increased to 10 per day in each direction by 2005,[6] with Bristol City Council providing a subsidy to Wessex Trains.

[44][45] There is an aspiration for half-hourly services, with trains towards Bristol terminating alternately at Portishead and Bath Spa, however due to the large sections of the Severn Beach Line which are single-track and to the congested main line from Temple Meads, such frequency is not currently feasible.

[46][47] The scheme was given the go-ahead in July 2012 as part of the City Deal, whereby local councils would be given greater control over money by the government.

[48] There are also calls for the reopening of the Henbury Loop Line, which could allow a direct service from Shirehampton to Bristol Parkway via Avonmouth.