19th century

Prestatyn station was built by the Chester and Holyhead Railway (CHR) on its line from Chester to the port of Holyhead on Anglesey.^[2] The route, engineered by Robert Stephenson, ran mainly along the coastline of North Wales. A contract for the station's construction was awarded to the Hinson Brothers.^[2]

On 1 May 1848, Prestatyn's first station opened when the CHR opened its line through to Bangor. It comprised a single slate-roofed two-storey brick building and adjacent shed on its westbound platform. The site is roughly 100 m to the east of the present station.^[2]

The station was the junction for a branch line to Dyserth opened by the LNWR in 1869 and intended for mineral traffic. In 1905, a passenger service was started that lasted until 1930, when it was withdrawn by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS). The line remained open to serve a quarry until its closure in 1973.^[3] Since then, much of the former line has been reused as a footpath.^[4]

On 1 January 1859, the North Wales Coast Line and its stations became a part on the London & North Western Railway (LNWR), who had acquired the CHR.^[2] The LNWR placed a great emphasis on its services between London and Ireland via the ferries at Holyhead. Traffic expanded considerably during the late 1800s and the company began a major expansion.^[2] In 1897 the tracks through the town were quadrupled and the current station was constructed.^[5]

The new station had prefabricated modular buildings manufactured by the LNWR at their works in Crewe.^[2] Three prefabricated buildings were constructed, all 3.4 m wide and 2 m long. Timber trestles and frames supported the prefabricated units and 600mm thick concrete slabs were used for parts of the foundations to support brick footings, fireplaces and chimneys.^[2]

One of the 1890s buildings is still standing on what was the line towards Chester. It had timber beam canopies along the south and west sides, three internal rooms with fireplaces and toilet facilities.^[2] Two similar structures have since been demolished, one having been located on the north-westerly line (towards Holyhead) and the third being built upon yet another platform. On 28 February 1897, the new station was opened and the old station was closed.^[2][6]

20th century

In 1901, further alterations to the station layout became necessary; the work was carried out by contractors Parnell & Son.^[2] The former 'up' platform was redeveloped into an island platform between the railway tracks. Another timber canopy was installed on the station building's north side.^[2]

Prestatyn station suffered from diminishing passenger numbers after the Second World War. It was threatened with closure during Beeching cuts in the 1960s but objections from the community led to it being reprieved.^[7]

The station and line were then rationalised, the four tracks were cut to two in the 1980s, and the island platform became the only one to remain in use.^[2] In 1979, the station was rebuilt in a style sympathetic to the original structure. Two of the three prefabricated buildings were demolished. In January 1997, the remaining station buildings were given Grade II listed building status.^[2]

In autumn 2011, Prestatyn was the first of six stations in Wales to receive an access footbridge and lift, repaved accessible platforms, in Network Rail's 'Access for All’ programme.^[8] In 2012, the station buildings were refurbished. During the first half of 2018, new signalling systems were installed along the North Wales Coast Line leading to the closure of the nearby signal box when control was centralised to the Wales Rail Operating Centre.^[9][10]