The station was opened by the Glasgow, Barrhead and Neilston Direct Railway on 27 September 1848. The line southwards beyond Neilston to via Dunlop was added between 1871 & 1873 by the Glasgow and South Western Railway and Caledonian Railway, giving travellers access to the G&SWR main line to Dumfries and Carlisle. The GB&NDR had originally been absorbed by the Caledonian Railway three years after completion, but was subsequently vested jointly into the CR and G&SWR by an Act of Parliament in 1869 in order to facilitate the extension southwards. Regular passenger services to the former G&SWR terminus at St Enoch ended with its closure in June 1966 - all services from here have henceforth used the former Caledonian station at Glasgow Central as their terminal. The section south of here towards Kilmarnock was singled in 1973 as an economy measure, following the completion of electrification work on the Carlisle to Glasgow Central section of the West Coast Main Line. The original G&SWR main line from Kilmarnock to was also closed to all traffic that year, leaving the line through here as the only available one for Kilmarnock to Glasgow trains. The section south of Lugton has since been partially redoubled, but Barrhead to Lugton remains single. This section is steeply graded in parts, with southbound services having to negotiate a climb of at 1 in 67-70 upon departure. A signal box remains in operation to supervise the station area and control the single line stretch southwards.
Facilities
The station has three platforms - one north-east facing bay specifically for terminating services and two through platforms, 1 and 2, which can be used for any service. A ticket machine serves platforms 2 and 3 whilst there is a staffed ticket office at street level adjacent to platform 1. There are toilets and a pay phone on the concourse next to the ticket office. Train running information is offered via timetable posters, digital departure screens, automated announcements and help points. Level access is available to all platforms - via a lift to platform 1, a subway and ramps from the latter to platforms 2 and 3.
Services
2008/2009
The station was generally served by a half-hourly service to and from which stops at all intermediate stations. This was supplemented by a train heading to either, or on an hourly basis, although a few train services did not stop.
2010
Following timetable change in December 2009, associated with the doubling of the line between Lugton and Stewarton, the station is generally served by a half-hourly service to and from which stops at all intermediate stations. There is also a train to/from either, or roughly every half-hour. Again, a few train services run non-stop through the station.
2017
The current service pattern is:
3tph to Glasgow Central, one of which starts in Kilmarnock, the other two start here.
