The station was opened on 15 September 1868, upon the inauguration of the
Gioia del Colle–Taranto section of the Bari–Taranto railway. On 28 February 1869, Taranto was also connected with
Metaponto, as the
Società per le Strade Ferrate Meridionali (, SFM) had initiated the construction of the
Jonica railway (Taranto–Reggio di Calabria). On the same day, a connection between the station and the
Port of Taranto was opened, as was the first section of the
Battipaglia–Potenza–Metaponto railway that, once completed, would open the then-important rail link to
Salerno and
Naples. In 1886, the
Società per le Strade Ferrate del Mediterraneo () opened the
Taranto–Brindisi railway. When finished, it would secure the faster and safer rail connection between these two major railway stations and port locations. From that point onwards, Taranto station was shared by two railway administrations,
Rete Adriatica and
Rete Mediterranea. Until the late nineteenth century, Taranto was an important railway junction for traffic in foodstuffs and timber from Calabria and Sicily to the Adriatic and the north. Its importance waned after the opening of the
Southern Tyrrhenian railway, which diverted most of this traffic via Salerno and Naples. The establishment of the
Ferrovie del Sud Est (FSE) in 1931 created an additional source of regional traffic, via
Martina Franca. ==Features==