Plans for a railway station in the town were first announced by the
North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) on 30 April 1845. Congleton was to be the terminus of a planned line to
Colwich, via
Burslem and
Stoke-on-Trent; this route was to be called the
Pottery Line. Some NSR through trains used the
Potteries Loop Line. The NSR ran a limited number of passenger trains on Monday-Saturday between Congleton and , calling at stations on the Potteries Loop line. Congleton was the terminus for two routes: •
London, Midland and Scottish Railway passenger trains on the northern end of the Potteries Loop Line between and . •
Biddulph Valley line passenger services were withdrawn on 11 July 1927. In 1930, a third platform was added by the
Nestle's Anglo Condensed Milk Company due to the importance of milk to the town's economy. After the closure of the goods yard at
Brunswick Wharf in
Buglawton on 1 April 1968, sand was delivered by train to the station instead. Under
British Rail, Congleton was served by many special services from Stoke-on-Trent via the Potteries Loop Line. In 1972, the
Royal Train stopped at Congleton as part of a visit to the town by
Queen Elizabeth II and
Prince Philip. In 1976, the station was closed to goods services. The station has, in the past, been subjected to vandalism. On 3 December 2025, a petition was submitted to the House of Commons to improve Sunday services at Congleton.
Former services The station was previously served by the following: • Direct trains to until 1996. •
Virgin CrossCountry served the station on Monday-Saturday in the early days of privatisation. • Limited peak-hour services operated by
CrossCountry between Manchester Piccadilly, and stopped here until 6 June 2020. • On 17 February 1899, there was a collision of two trains. • On 19 January 2006, a Virgin CrossCountry
Voyager train caught fire at the station. ==Facilities==