Yamashina Station is the only the JR facility located in Yamashina Ward, which has been urbanized as a bedroom suburb; it is used by passengers commuting to Kyoto and Osaka as well as by passengers (many of whom are high school students) changing to local trains for the Kosei Line and the Biwako Line in Shiga Prefecture.
ベッドタウンとして都市化の進んだ山科区内唯一のJR駅で、京都・大阪方面への通勤通学客が多い他、滋賀県内の湖西線各駅・びわこ線各駅間の乗換（とくに高校生が多い）利用も多い。