[9] Locations served by Tottenham Hale trains in previous years included London St Pancras (via the Tottenham and Hampstead Joint Railway), North Woolwich via the low level platforms at Stratford (after the Palace Gates Line service was cut back) and York (via Cambridge and the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway).

The station opened on 15 September 1840 as Tottenham,[11] on the Northern & Eastern Railway (N&ER) line from Stratford in east London to Broxbourne in Hertfordshire.

On 12 September 1858 a passenger train collided with some goods wagons that had been shunted onto the main line.

Eighteen months later on 20 February 1860 the station was the site of a serious railway accident when a locomotive derailed, killing the driver, fireman and seven passengers.

[17] The area was always susceptible to flooding, one of the worst instances being between 18 and 22 February 1919 when the River Lea overflowed its banks and rail traffic was suspended.

[20] On 4 October 1929, another accident occurred at Tottenham North Junction (just south of the station) when a goods train, hauled by LNER Class J15 0-6-0 No.

7938, passed a signal at danger and was hit by a passenger train, which was hauled by LNER Class B17 4-6-0 No.

[21] On 21 March 1944 (during World War Two) a number of incendiary bombs fell close to the station, destroying a lineside hut.

[23] On 14 July 1967 planning permission was granted for the addition of the London Underground Victoria line station.

[25] Prior to electrification, between 1958 and 1969 passenger services between Cheshunt and London Liverpool Street through Tottenham Hale were normally operated by Class 125 diesel multiple units (which had been purpose-built for the line).

When sectorisation was introduced in the 1980s, the station was served by Network SouthEast until the privatisation of British Railways.

For many years the only service on this route had been a parliamentary "ghost train" to Enfield Town via Stratford operated to save lengthy closure (to passenger) procedures.

Following the 2011 England riots which began in Tottenham, a redevelopment of the tube, bus and rail stations was used to encourage investment in the area.

Tottenham Hale is served by trains operated by Greater Anglia and on London Underground's Victoria line.

[34] In February 2013, the Crossrail task force of business group London First, chaired by former Secretary of State for Transport Andrew Adonis, published its recommendations on Crossrail 2, favouring a route almost identical to the regional option proposed by TfL in 2011.

[36] This proposal will see four tracks restored through Tottenham Hale and direct links to South-West London.