[2] St Johnston station was opened as a part of the Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway in 1847.

[3] The opening of the station brought prosperity to the village of St Johnston.

After the partition of Ireland in 1921 the Irish Revenue Commissioners selected St Johnston as the location for the customs post for the link between County Donegal and County Londonderry in Northern Ireland, despite the customs officers being considered ineffective for the route, as smugglers tended not to use the railway when heading for Londonderry station.

[4] It was operated by Great Northern Railway and was known locally as the "Derry Road", for people passing through to connect at Londonderry station to change trains to connect onwards to Belfast.

[4] The closure was also debated in the Senate of Northern Ireland, where Northern Irish senators objected to the closure citing economic viability, and one member stated that he had previously used St Johnston to deliver six combine harvesters to County Donegal.