The first railway station in Machynlleth (Welsh pronunciation: Mach-UN-hleth) was the narrow gauge Corris Railway, which opened its station building on the north side of the main-line goods yard in 1859.
This was later made accessible from the mainline station by a flight of steps from the standard gauge platform. Waggish porters were known to call out "Platform 14 for Corris" when greeting arriving passengers.
The existing mainline station dates from 1863 with the opening of the Newtown and Machynlleth Railway.
The following year the Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast Railway opened the line as far as Aberystwyth via Dovey Junction, and in 1867 the line was extended from Barmouth to Pwllheli via Porthmadog.
In 1868 the station and lines were absorbed into the Cambrian Railways.
The Cambrian Railways were absorbed by the Great Western Railway on 1 January 1922 as a result of the Railways Act 1921, and became part of British Railways in 1948.