Railroad service first reached Mount Joy in 1836 when the Harrisburg, Portsmouth, Mount Joy and Lancaster Railroad began operating on its new line, with the Exchange Hotel at the present-day intersection of Main and Barbara streets serving as the town's first train station. Within three years, connecting lines linked Mount Joy to Philadelphia and Baltimore. Chartered in 1846, the Pennsylvania Railroad used this line between Harrisburg and Lancaster, and by 1858 passengers could travel between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh through Mount Joy without changing trains. The town's first dedicated passenger station opened in 1876 near the present-day corner of North Market and Old Market streets. As rail traffic grew, the track through town included 12 at-grade crossings and an S-curve, and by 1894 twenty-nine daily trains passed through Mount Joy, with fatal crashes involving pedestrians and horse-drawn vehicles increasing. In 1896 the Pennsylvania Railroad straightened the route and excavated a trench to carry the tracks below street level, improving safety and efficiency and creating the corridor still used today. A new passenger and freight station opened that year on the north side of the tracks near the site of the present-day station. Ridership remained strong for the next 50 years, but World War II and the rise of the automobile contributed to a nationwide decline in rail passengers. The station building closed in 1957 and was demolished in 1975, yet train service continued at Mount Joy under the Pennsylvania Railroad until 1968, Penn Central through 1970, and Amtrak since 1971. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation modernized the station and parking facilities through projects completed in 2019, adding ADA accessibility and supporting growing ridership on Amtrak's Keystone Corridor.