The Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway was a British railway company. From Birmingham it connected at Derby with the North Midland Railway and the Midland Counties Railway at what became known as the Tri Junct Station. It now forms part of the main route between the West Country and the Northeast.
Although Birmingham was served by an extensive canal network, indeed, it is suggested they were a factor in its growth as an engineering centre, there were technical problems since Birmingham was on rising ground.
As early as 1824, Birmingham businessmen had been looking at the possibilities of the railway. The London and Birmingham Railway and the Grand Junction Railway had obtained their Acts of Parliament in 1833 and a scheme for a line to Gloucester and Bristol was in the air. The North Midland had been floated in 1833 and a proposal was made to connect to its terminus at Derby
George Stephenson surveyed the route in 1835. The bill envisaged the line as running through Whitacre to meet the London and Birmingham Railway with a junction at Stechford to travel into the latter's terminus at Curzon Street. It would also run from Whitacre to Hampton-in-Arden, where it would join the L&B for connections to London.