Finningham railway station was a station physically located in the neighbouring parish of Bacton, Suffolk on the Great Eastern Main Line between London and Norwich. It was located 86 miles and 54 chains from Liverpool Street and was opened to passenger in 1849. It was closed in 1966 as part of the Beeching Axe with other smaller stations on the line although the line remains open.

Work on the extension of the Ipswich to Bury St Edmunds Railway line from Haughley Junction towards Norwich commenced in early 1848 by the Eastern Union Railway (EUR). A single track railway opened as far as Finningham on 7 June 1848 which was for goods traffic only. Extension towards Diss and Norwich was difficult due to the challenges presented by Thrandeston bog and the line to Diss opened 28 May 1849. Six months later on 11 November 1849 the line opened through to Norwich with a second track.^[1]

The EUR, who were short of money, decided to only erect temporary buildings at Finningham to see whether passenger traffic would develop to justify more permanent buildings. Operation of the EUR was taken over by the Eastern Counties Railway in 1854 and following a financially difficult period almost all of the railways in East Anglia were merged into a single operation called the Great Eastern Railway (GER). Following gales in the winter of 1863 which destroyed the temporary buildings, the GER approved and built a substantial station building in 1865.^[2]

In 1881 the line was fitted with Absolute Block signalling.

From February 1895 to July 1898 the station master was Robert Gillingwater (1854-1923)^[3]

Between 1923 and 1947 the station was operated by the London and North Eastern Railway.

Around 1900 Finningham station had two platforms joined by a footbridge, a small goods shed and cattle pens on the up side (East side) of the line and a loop and sidings on the down side. A siding located a short distance to the south on the up side also handled grain traffic.

The signal box, which had 18 levers for points and signals, was situated at the south end of the down platform more or less opposite the main station building which was just to the north of the goods shed. There was a small brick built shelter on the down side for Norwich bound passengers.^[4][5]

Following nationalisation in 1948 Finningham station became part of British Railways Eastern Region.

Freight, which for many years during the 1950s consisted of a daily pick-up freight train between Norwich and Stowmarket, was finally withdrawn on 28 December 1964 and the goods sidings were all lifted the following year on 15 July 1965. The connections to the goods loops lasted until 5 June 1968 when the last points were removed and the signal box abolished.^[6]

The last passenger trains called on 5 November 1966 when the Ipswich to Norwich stopping service was withdrawn.

The line to Norwich remains in operational use and was electrified in May 1987.^[7]