The first railway station was built by the Northern and Eastern Railway in 1843 opposite what is now The Great Eastern Tavern in Railway Street. This position, rather than one closer to the town, was chosen so as to keep the station at some distance from both the Gaol and Christ's Hospital School. The station was at the termination of the new branch line from the London-Cambridge railway at Broxbourne. When the railway opened there were seven train to London every weekday and two on Sundays. Tickets cost 5s (25p) for first class, 4s (20p) for second class and 2s6d third class.

In 1858 a second station was built at Cowbridge with the extension of the Great Northern Railway from Welwyn. The station was adjacent to McMullen's Brewery, with access via a wide spur off of Hartham Lane, which still exists today. The station closed in 1924 with the opening of Hertford North.

In 1888 a new station - Hertford East - was opened. This lay much closer to the town centre in Mill Road and included covered arches for horsedrawn vehicles. There were also spurs off to the industrial area that had grown up nearby together with a link to Cowbridge Station. The service currently runs into London's Liverpool Street Station.

Hertford North station was opened in 1924 following the completion of the loop off the Great Northen line from Alexandra Palace to Stevenage. Along with the station came Beane Road and the development of housing nearby. The entrance to the station was rebuilt in the 1980s, including access for the disabled. The service currently runs south into London's Moorgate and Kings Cross Stations; and North to Stevenage.

With the increased use of roads, rail operations in the town were scaled down during the latter half of the twentieth century, culminating in the implementation of The Beeching Report in the 1960s, which closed many stations and lines, including the link between Hertford North and Hertford East. Although the track was taken up, the line of the railway is still in evidence in lower Bengeo, where the disused cuttings and bridges remain. At the point where the line crossed Mill Road you can still find an old railway crossing gate. The old Cowbridge station building remained in place until quite recently, before it was demolished to make way for an expanded brewery and industrial units. The old disused sidings at Hertford East remain, mostly overgrown, but with the track intact. The property arm of the rail authority is currently drawing up plans to sell off the redundant site.