Located in the southwest portion of Swampscott near the Lynn border, it serves the MBTA Commuter Rail Newburyport/Rockport Line.

The existing station building was originally built in 1868 for the Eastern Railroad; it was designed by George W. Cram, a Boston housewright.

The collision, blamed on the engineer operating at unsafe speeds for the conditions, killed 13 people and injured 283.

[10] A December 2012 town report advocated for mixed-use development at the station, as well as a pedestrian crossing between the platforms.

In 2012, the town drafted an eminent domain claim to obtain part of the right-of-way near the station from National Grid, who was not opposed to the trail but had much stricter requirements to allow conversion.