Enrico Pohlmeyer, author of the plan, and by the Lucchese architect Giuseppe Pardini, who was the creator of the elevations: the building was inaugurated on 29 September 1846.

Since 1884, the terminal station of the Lucca–Ponte a Moriano tramway had stood in the square in front of it, the urban penetration section of which used a gallery built under the walls called the Cairoli sortie, which is still visible today.

This tram station, called Porta San Pietro due to its proximity to the homonymous access work to the city, was in turn equipped with a masonry building serving the "Tranvia Lucchese" company and a central canopy.

The electrified metric gauge track of the Lucca-Monsummano tramway, inaugurated in 1907 and definitively suppressed in 1957, also passed in the immediate vicinity of the station, with a dedicated stop.

From 3 July 2023, the restoration work on the main building of the Lucca station began, with consequent changes to circulation and parking.

In summer, the station is often the focal point of the entire province of Lucca for tourists and people heading to Viareggio.