The former station served as the city terminus for a network of 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) gauge railways that served the area to the north of the city, including lines stretching as far as Matosinhos, Póvoa de Varzim, Vila Nova de Famalicão and Guimarães.

[1][2] The northern sections of lines A, B, C, E and F of the Porto Metro make use of much of the trackbed of the old 1000mm gauge railway lines, including the reuse of the Lapa Tunnel [pt] (formerly known as the Trindade Tunnel), which provided the northern rail approach to the railway station, and now fulfils the same role for the metro station.

The station was designed by the renowned Portuguese architect and Pritzker Prize winner Eduardo Souto de Moura, and was completed in 2002.

[4][5] The section of the metro northwards from Trindade to Senhora da Hora, which follows the route of the former railway, was inaugurated on 7 December 2002 and commercial services started on 1 January 2003.

[3][6][7] In 2004, 14.8% of all ticket validations on the network were made at Trindade, down from 23.7% the previous year due to the opening of the Bolhão and Estádio do Dragão stations, but still comfortably the highest.

[citation needed] Meanwhile work was underway to build the separate line D route, which passes through Trindade station at a lower level.

This line opened through Trindade on 17 September 2005, with trains initially running between Câmara de Gaia and Pólo Universitário.