The station is a major interchange serving both the north–south East Coast Main Line, as well as long-distance and local east–west services.

[3] During the construction of the GNR line south to London, it was decided that the GNR would need their own station at Peterborough; this was decided upon in December 1849,[4] and opened on 7 August 1850[1] together with the new line, which originally terminated at Maiden Lane, the permanent London terminus at King's Cross not being ready until 14 October 1852.

[1] The Great Northern Railway heading north to Grantham and Doncaster (the Towns Line) opened in 1853 using the GNR station.

[6] The Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway (M&GNR) branch to Wisbech and Sutton Bridge opened in 1866.

The express services calling at Peterborough were mainly those between London and Leeds or York, but there were also through coaches to Grimsby via Spalding and Boston, to Cromer via the M&GNR line, to Sheffield Victoria and Manchester London Road via Retford and the Great Central line, and to Hull, Halifax, Blackburn, Harrogate and Bradford via Doncaster.

In 1910, the GNR were still running trains to Leicester via Wansford and Seaton, in direct competition with the Midland Railway which ran via Stamford.

Each of the pre 1923 companies had a local locomotive shed: GNR service to Leicester ended in 1916 during World War I.

In the same year several minor stations on the Birmingham line were closed including Helpston and Ketton & Collyweston.

In 1976, the life-expired GNR booking hall and east side buildings were demolished, due to their condition, and were replaced by Portakabins.

A contract was awarded to local company, Bernard Stokeley Ltd., to provide replacement buildings (which, with alterations, are those in use today) and these were opened a couple of years later.

All platforms are accessible by means of a passenger footbridge with lifts and also by a ramp bridge at the north end of the station.

Southbound EC services run either non-stop to the capital or call only at Stevenage: northbound destinations include Edinburgh Waverley, Glasgow Central, Leeds, Lincoln Central, and Newcastle (though many Scottish services now run non-stop from London to York).

[23] Great Northern trains start and terminate at Peterborough (peak times and weekday evenings only) and serve the intermediate stations southwards.

East Midlands Railway are also hourly, between Norwich and Liverpool via Nottingham, Sheffield and Manchester Piccadilly.