The original station was opened on 12 August 1839 by the
Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway, a forerunner of the
Midland Railway, on its original route from to meeting the
London and Birmingham Railway for
London. Later, in 1842, the B&DJ built a branch to
Birmingham, terminating at
Lawley Street railway station. On 26 June 1847, the
London and North Western Railway opened its
Trent Valley line passing at a right angle beneath the original Birmingham and Derby line with a new joint station designed by
John William Livock. The joint station did not acquire the
High Level and
Low Level names until 1924. Since it was expected that only local trains would call, the low level platforms were on loops, with the running lines left clear for expresses. At that time, there was a north to west curve linking the, by then, Midland Railway line with the LNWR line. This curve was opened in 1847 and closed in March 1969. A north to east curve was also constructed by the Midland Railway in around 1866 to carry LNWR Nuneaton-Burton traffic, but was never opened, as it had been made redundant by an agreement to build the
Ashby and Nuneaton Joint Railway. Some sources state that the tracks were lifted in 1878, but certainly it was listed on maps as being dismantled by 1901. There was a large water tower and pumping station at the east end of the low level, pumping water from the
River Anker below. The rebuilt station opened in 1962 and, at the same time, the Trent Valley Line was electrified, requiring the High level line and platforms to be raised by two feet.
Accidents and incidents • On 14 September 1870, a mail train was diverted into a siding due to a signalman's error. It crashed through the buffers and ended up in the River Anker. Three people were killed. ==Layout==