The station was opened by the Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway on 1 May 1903, as part of an extension from that company's previous northern terminus at to a junction with the Cathcart District Railway at Cathcart. The route was completed through to the following year, giving the L&AR a route between Lanarkshire and the coast at Ardrossan independent of the Glasgow and South Western Railway. Though the line carried freight and express boat trains from Adrossan to Glasgow Central, Muirend was only ever served by local suburban workings. A connection was laid in south of the station down to the Busby Railway at around the same time as the L&AR main line was opened, but it was never used for through traffic and was disconnected by 1907, and only the crossover underneath the road bridge immediately south of the station remains of the kilometer long branch. Through passenger traffic over this route declined significantly after the 1923 Grouping and regular passenger trains were withdrawn beyond in 1932. Services through here were converted to diesel operation from 1958 and the Cathcart lines were subsequently electrified in 1962. Through trains to & Newton also ended at this time, with passengers henceforth having to change at. With popular demand, these services were reinstated in the 1980s. With electrification came the Class 303 'Blue Train' EMUs, which operated the Cathcart Circle and its branches until their withdrawal in the early 2000s. Class 314 EMUs cascaded from the Inverclyde routes by the introduction of the Class 334 Juniper EMUs took over workings, and were only replaced on the route a couple of months before their final withdrawal in December 2019. British Rail and SPTE proposals published in the early 1980s would have seen the Clarkston spur reopened and used by re-routed trains to/from, which would have then run to GlasgowCentral via Cathcart & Queens Park. The scheme would also have seen the East Kilbride branch electrified, but the Clarkston to Busby Junction section closed. The proposals were not well received and were never implemented.
Services and facilities
Services are now operated mainly by 4 car Class 380/1 EMUs, with the 3 coach Class 318 EMUs and Class 320 EMUs working together to provide 6 coach services at peak times. Two trains an hour operate in each direction calling all stops from Glasgow Central to Neilston. Additionally, additional peak time services operate between Central and Neilston, calling only from Muirend through to the terminus. Sunday services are also half hourly, but start around 3 hours later than on other days. The station has an island platform with a ramp providing access directly to the platform from Muirend Road at the south end of the station. At the north end, there is footbridge access to and from Hillcrest Avenue and Cairndow Court. The station building contains a ticket office which is manned on a part-time basis. An automated ticket machine is present.
