The station was built on Sawmill Road between Hood Terrace and Railroad Avenue, in the Elm Street-Wagner Place neighborhood.

[4][5] The station has two high-level side platforms, which can accommodate 12-car trains, serving the outer tracks of the four-track Northeast Corridor.

The wood-framed building, located on the south (eastbound) side of the tracks, was moved west halfway to Campbell Avenue in 1895 when the line was quadruple-tracked.

[7] The station was briefly proposed to reopen in the 1950s following the construction of a Veterans Affairs hospital nearby; however, this did not come to fruition, and the idea was largely abandoned for several decades.

"[10] In 2011 - even after ground was broken at West Haven - state lawmakers considered a funding deal to build an Orange station.

[13][14] The Final Environmental Impact Statement, released in June 2007, estimated the capital cost for the station at $66.56 million including land acquisitions, with a total of 1,074 parking spaces split between lots and a garage.

Ridership was estimated at 1,620 daily riders at opening and 1,955 by 2025, with about 20% new transit users rather than diverted from New Haven or Milford stations.

[10] Design was one-third complete and construction planned for fall 2009 when initial renderings were released in June 2008, with costs estimated at $100 million.

[16] The majority of station and building construction was completed by the end of 2012, with primarily electrical, interior finishing, and paving work remaining.

The station was originally to open on June 1, 2013, but these plans were derailed by construction delays and the death of a track worker who was struck by a train in late May.

[4][21] Shore Line East service at the station was suspended indefinitely on March 16, 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic.