It is the 20th station on the Main Line and 37.48 km (23.29 mi) from the Colombo Fort railway station[1] at an elevation of 18.59 m (61.0 ft) above mean sea level.

The station has four platforms and one siding line with crossing loop and functions as a commuter rail terminus.

The original station was opened on 27 December 1864, when the first passenger train, carrying the Duke of Brabant, Leopold II, and operated by Guilford Lindsey Molesworth (Chief Railway Engineer), ran from Veyangoda to Ambepussa and returned to Colombo.

[3][4] The line however wasn't officially opened for traffic until 2 October 1865 and the Veyangoda station wasn't completed until 1866.

In 2016 the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation, Nimal Siripala de Silva, announced that the government would be electrifying the railway line from Veyangoda to Panadura over the next three years.