The station consists of a short low-level platform with an asphalt patch for passengers to cross the tracks, plus a small wooden shelter on the inbound side.

The line was re-extended as far as Ayer (one stop inbound of Shirley) later in 1965 and cut back to South Acton in 1975.

Shirley reopened in May 1981 at Phoenix Street, 0.2 miles (0.32 km) east of the former site, with a small plexiglass bus stop shelter on the inbound side.

[2][3] The bus shelter was replaced by a hip-roofed wooden structure - its style based on the original Shirley station - in 1993.

[3] In May 2024, the MBTA indicated the possibility of building accessible platforms shorter than standard length at Shirley.