It is on the Trent Valley section of the West Coast Main Line, exactly 102 miles (164 km) from London Euston station.

The station was designed by John William Livock and opened by the London and North Western Railway in 1847.

The original down (northbound) platform was demolished and replaced by the current one during this time to accommodate the extra tracks.

West Midlands Trains operating under the London Northwestern Railway branding, provide an hourly service in each direction (including Sundays); southbound to London Euston via Nuneaton, Rugby and Milton Keynes Central, and northbound to Crewe via Stafford.

From May 2014 Atherstone was part of the previous operator London Midland's "Project 110" scheme which saw the speed of the Class 350 trains on the Euston-Crewe service increase from 100 to 110 miles per hour (180 km/h), and take the express train route via Weedon rather than travel via the Northampton loop line.