Burnley Barracks Station opened on the 18^th September 1848 as the terminus of the East Lancashire Railway, closing a year later when the Colne extension opened. The area around the station developed quickly with industry, housing and of course the cavalry barracks. The station reopened in 1851.

The cavalry barracks was transferred to the newly built Fulwood Barracks on the 5^th of December 1898. The home of the East Lancashire Regiment had fallen into a state of poor repair necessitating the transfer to Fulwood.

Nowadays this small station sits rather isolated in the middle of an area which has seen much demolition and development and surrounded by major roads. There is good access from the station to The Weavers Triangle on the Leeds Liverpool canal and a number of Lancashire cycleways pass the station.