The station is owned by Network Rail and managed by East Midlands Railway.

[3] The station was opened by the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway as Whatstandwell Bridge on 4 June 1849, though it was not listed in the timetable until 1853.

[4] On 4 October 1853, a luggage train was on its way from Rowsley to Ambergate; at Whatstandwell, it was put into a siding to collect some empty wagons.

[8] A team of volunteers from the village helps to maintain the station and car park.

[citation needed] All services at Whatstandwell are operated by East Midlands Railway using Class 170 diesel multiple units.

The typical off-peak service is one train per hour in each direction between Matlock and Nottingham, via Derby.