A station named Welwyn Junction was opened with the Hertford and Welwyn Junction Railway on 1 March 1858. This station ceased to be used for services on 1 September 1860. A halt named Welwyn Garden City Halt opened on 1 September 1920, shortly after the town was incorporated; this was on the now defunct Luton/Dunstable branch line, slightly further north than the present station. This line cuts west and north through Sherrardspark Wood, and on towards Wheathampstead via what is now Ayot Greenway. The line near the station has seen two serious train crashes. One in 1935, and another in 1957.