The station, situated 17 miles 69 chains (28.7 km) south of Carlisle, serves the market town of Penrith, Westmorland and Furness in Cumbria, England.

The latter joined with the South Durham and Lancashire Union Railway at Kirkby Stephen, providing connections to the East Coast Main Line at Darlington.

In the mid-nineteenth century, there was a plan to connect Penrith to the lead mines at Caldbeck by rail, eventually joining up with the Cumbrian Coast Line near Wigton.

Passenger services to Darlington and Kirkby Stephen were withdrawn on 22 January 1962, whilst those to Workington via Cockermouth fell victim to the Beeching Axe around four years later.

[5][6][7] The station was the last in the United Kingdom where mail was collected by a moving train, the practice finally coming to an end on 3 October 1971.