The line was originally opened by the Midland Counties Railway in 1839, which shortly joined the North Midland Railway and the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway to form the Midland Railway. Originally Sawley Junction, Long Eaton is the fourth station of that name. The original Long Eaton stations were further north. The first Sawley station was a mile out of the village on Sawley Lane, Breaston. First used in 1839, when the line opened, it was the third station from Nottingham. It was originally called Breaston, but the name was changed to avoid confusion with Beeston. This station at Sawley Junction opened in 1888 on Tamworth Road. Since another station had been opened not far away at Draycott in 1852, the original Sawley closed in 1930. On 9 October 1869 a Midland Railway passenger train was involved in a rear-end collision with another train at Long Eaton Junction resulting in seven deaths and another twelve more injured. The investigation blamed fog, inadequate brake power, excessive speed, fogman error for the cause of the collision. In 1932, the LMS announced that Sawley Junction would be known as Sawley Junction for Long Eaton. As of late 2009, Long Eaton became a penalty fare station; tickets must be purchased from the ticket office or self-service machine prior to boarding a train.
Services
Rail routes run north–south through Long Eaton along the route known as the Midland Main Line, going south to Loughborough, Leicester, Luton and London; and north to Derby, Chesterfield and Sheffield. A major junction south of the station at Trent links the cross country route to Nottingham. West bound services to Birmingham travel via Derby and the Cross Country Route. Train operators using the station include CrossCountry and East Midlands Railway. The usual Monday - Saturday service pattern is as follows:
On Sundays, the London to Sheffield trains call hourly each way, the Matlock trains every two hours and there is also an hourly Derby to Nottingham stopping service in each direction.
Current station
The usable length of the station platforms is shorter than the express trains which stop here, so passengers arriving from London, Derby or Sheffield will usually have to get off from the front four carriages. Elderly passengers or those with pushchairs, heavy luggage or bicycles wishing to alight at Loughborough should take particular care to board the correct portion of the train. Cycles may have to be stored in vestibules away from the cycle lockers depending on the orientation of the train. The station is staffed between 06:00 and 17:30 during the day time, and has an automatic ticket machine installed externally which can be used 24/7. It is planned that both platforms will be extended by up to 10 metres by no later than 2012. This was not completed, and the platform has not been extended. It is anticipated that developments along the Erewash line will result in changes for Long Eaton station. A plan drawn up in 2011 recommended a new Derby to Mansfield service via new stations at Breaston & Draycott, Long Eaton West, Long Eaton Central, Stapleford & Sandiacre, Ilkeston, Eastwood & Langley Mill, Selston & Somercotes and then to Pinxton via new trackbed connecting with the Mansfield line from Nottingham at Kirkby in Ashfield.
