The station was opened by the NER in 1879 as the terminus of their newly extended Newcastle and South Shields Railway branch from Pelaw via Hebburn.

Services on both routes remained well used and in 1938, the line from Newcastle was electrified on the 660 V DC system as an extension of the existing North Tyneside suburban network.

Nationalisation in 1948 saw the station become part of British Railways North Eastern Region, but over the next few years services began to decline - those to Whitburn Colliery ended in November 1953,[1] whilst the direct Sunderland trains fell victim to the Beeching Axe in May 1965 (passengers thereafter having to change at Pelaw).

The Newcastle line was also converted to diesel multiple unit operation in 1963, with BR stating that it was cheaper to remove the third rail than renew the electrical equipment on the route.

Though it survived the Beeching cuts, by the 1970s the station (and route) had become increasingly run down and so it was a logical choice to be included in the planned Tyne & Wear Metro network.