Seamer station was opened on 7 July 1845 by the York and North Midland Railway and became a junction station when a branch line to Filey was opened the following year. Its island platform configuration was chosen to make it easier for passengers to change between the two routes here rather than continuing into Scarborough to do so. A second branch line from the station was opened by the NER on 1 May 1882 - the station subsequently underwent improvements in 1911 to accommodate the extra traffic. The Forge Valley line was never particularly busy and it was an early victim of road competition, closing to passengers on 5 June 1950. The track was lifted by 1953 and the additional platform and slow line here was removed soon afterwards. The former station house on the down side next to the level crossing still stands, though no longer in rail usage.
Facilities
The station currently only has basic facilities, such as a large shelter on the island platforms, as well as passenger information screens towards the middle of the platforms. The station is unstaffed, but a ticket machine is provided. Step-free access to the platform is via a foot level crossing at the north end - this is supervised from the nearby signal box.
Services
TransPennine Express
From Seamer Monday to Saturdays there are up to two trains per hour eastbound to Scarborough and westbound generally an hourly TransPennine Express service to York, Leeds, Manchester Victoria and Liverpool Lime Street. On Sundays there is an hourly service to York, Leeds and Liverpool Lime Street.
Northern Trains
operates an hourly service to Bridlington and Hull on the Yorkshire Coast Line. On Sundays, these continue to and. From the next timetable change in December 2019, these will also do so on weekdays and Saturdays. Until Northern Rail took over in 2004, Arriva Trains Northern did have services that stopped at Seamer, the current York to Blackpool service used to continue to Scarborough alongside TransPennine Express services. This service was usually worked by a Metro liveried Class 158 DMU, occasionally a Class 155 DMU. There was also a local service from York to Scarborough usually worked by a Pacer DMU or a Class 156. The new TransPennine & Northern franchises will see service frequency and rolling stock improvements implemented on both routes - the Hull line will have an hourly frequency throughout the week, whilst the York line will have two trains per hour on weekdays and an hourly service on Sundays. Trains to Liverpool will continue, but they will be diverted via Manchester Victoria and. The change to TPE routing took effect in 2018, but Northern's plans for a York service are currently on hold due to a shortage of rolling stock.
