The station is around 27.6 miles (44.4 km) north of London King's Cross on the East Coast Main Line.

It is also served frequently by London North Eastern Railway, which operates non-stopping services southbound to King's Cross and northbound to York, Leeds and Edinburgh Waverley.

[2] It was officially opened on 26 September 1973 by Shirley Williams, then MP for Stevenage;[nb 1] this replaced the previous station which was sited 73 chains (1,500 m) to the north and further away from the centre of the new town.

The station is a short walk on a walkway from Stevenage Bus Interchange and is opposite a leisure complex that includes the Gordon Craig Theatre.

[8] Services at Stevenage are provided by four train operating companies: Govia Thameslink Railway operates trains here under two sub-brands: Great Northern serves Stevenage with a half-hourly service to Moorgate, which calls at all stations via the Hertford Loop Line.

Southbound, this service runs non-stop to London King's Cross and northbound, calls only at Biggleswade, St Neots and Huntingdon.

London North Eastern Railway generally serves Stevenage with two trains per hour in each direction during the day.

There is also an hourly service from King's Cross, alternating northbound between terminating at Lincoln or York, via Retford.

[11] During peak hours, a small number of services to Leeds are extended to and from Bradford Forster Square.

There are also a small number of early morning and late evening services to and from Newcastle and Edinburgh Waverley.