The station was opened, along with the rest of the line from the original
Hull and Selby Railway station at
Manor House Street, Hull, on 6 October 1846. The station building was designed by
George Andrews, consisting of two platforms, a stationmaster's house, and waiting rooms. In addition to the passenger facilities there was a goods shed, and coal depot to the west of the line, reached by points to the north of the station. Goods transit into Cottingham included coal and building materials, whilst goods outwards from Cottingham included large amounts of agricultural produce as well as livestock. Goods traffic ended in 1970. Halfway between Cottingham and Hull, a junction was created when a direct line was opened to the new
York and North Midland Railway terminus at
Hull in 1848. The original line south of Cottingham (later known as the
Newington branch) was subsequently utilised as a direct route towards and points west, bypassing the busy station at Paragon for through trains to and from the coast, and was particularly busy in the summer months but was closed to all traffic in May 1965 to allow the removal of several inconvenient
level crossings along its route, leaving the 1848 line to handle all remaining services. In 1988, the stationmaster's house, the station itself and the former goods shed were listed as a Grade II
listed buildings. The footbridge on the station platform is of a standard NER cast iron pre-assembled design. The footbridge was restored by
Network Rail in 2021. ==Facilities==