The station has operated since the days of the
Spuyten Duyvil and Port Morris Railroad as well as the
New York and Putnam Railroad late in the 19th century, though not in its present form. It was originally located north of the former 180th Street (now Osbourne Place), while a nearby Fordham Heights station was located at West Fordham Road. The two stations were merged at some point before the 1920s; demolition of the Fordham Heights Station was being planned as early as 1906. North of Fordham Road, the former NY&P branched off to the northeast on its way to
Brewster. Throughout much of the 20th century, University Heights station contained a station house over the tracks along the south side of West Fordham Road. Passenger service on the Putnam Division ended on June 1, 1958, but continued along the Hudson Division. As with many
New York Central Railroad (NYCRR) stations in the Bronx, the station became a
Penn Central station upon the merger between NYCRR and
Pennsylvania Railroad in 1968. Penn Central continued commuter service and began tearing the station house down in 1975, before being taken over by
Conrail in 1976, which turned the station over to
Metro-North Railroad in 1983. ==Station layout==