It became a junction on 6 June 1857, when the Ulverstone and Lancaster Railway arrived from the north-west; the station served as the line's southern terminus.

The Furness Railway erected a distinctive stone-built signal box to the north-west of the station in 1882, used until 1903, and this survives preserved as a grade II listed building.

[2] The West Coast Main Line (WCML) platforms were closed in May 1970, following the withdrawal of local stopping passenger services between Lancaster and Carlisle two years earlier.

The platform walls facing the fast lines were demolished, cut back and fenced off before the commissioning of 25 kV overhead electrification in 1974.

In 2011, Network Rail rejected proposals to reopen the main line platforms, stating that there would be too few passengers to justify slowing down trains.

An award-winning Heritage Centre including a small railway museum and the Brief Encounter refreshment room, a number of shops and a travel/ticket office occupy the buildings.

It is run by an independent retailer on behalf of the local authority, but sells a full range of National Rail tickets.