The railway line which passed through Egginton originally formed part of the Great Northern Railway's Derbyshire Extension route from Grantham to Stafford and was opened in April 1878. It ran from Grantham on the East Coast Main Line via Nottingham Victoria, over Bennerley Viaduct (which still stands today) to Derby Friargate Station. This section of the Great Northern Railway, also known as the Friargate Line, (for further history about this now closed railway see GNR Derbyshire and Staffordshire Extension), was built as a rival to the already established Midland Railway which at the time had a monopoly over Derby, Nottingham and the surrounding areas.