The first station was built by the Grand Junction Railway and opened in July 1837 on the north side of Newport Road.

[7] Two accidents have happened at Stafford since 1990: There are five platforms in use at the station, all of which are accessible from either of the main lines that converge from the south.

When Virgin Trains operated the InterCity West Coast franchise, platform 2 served as a stable for their Class 57 rescue locomotives; this role is now redundant.

This practice has since ended and now the westernmost platform has been converted into a single goods line, with bi-directional operation.

[12] In October 2012, Network Rail began refurbishment works at the station due to the poor condition of some of the structures.

[13] In June 2015, Virgin Trains unveiled £1 million plans to refurbish the entrance, ticket hall and foyer.

[14][15] Currently, the station has many facilities which are typical of those across the Avanti West Coast Network; this includes a ticket office, toilets, car park, coffee shop and newsagent.

[16] The programme included large scale building works, north of Stafford station in Norton Bridge, Staffordshire, where a flyover was implemented to allow faster train services, and removed the need to slow down before entering the junction.

Other benefits of the programme, were the introduction of bi-directional signals at Stafford Station, which meant that trains can now use any platform, regardless of direction of travel.

[17] The resignalling programme meant that Stafford signal boxes would be closed, and trains would be controlled from the Rugby Rail Operating Centre (ROC).

Avanti West Coast:[19][20] London Northwestern Railway: CrossCountry:[24] There have been proposals to reintroduce services to terminate on the Chase Line, which was cutback to Rugeley Trent Valley in 2008, as well a significant increase in the frequency of local services under Midlands Rail Hub.