It is an interchange station, allowing passenger transfer between the network's Altrincham, Eccles, Airport, Trafford Park and South Manchester lines.

The station opened on 6 December 1999 for interchange (line transfers) only and allowed street-level entry and exit to the public from 3 September 2005.

[1] The stop is named after the now culverted Corn Brook, a tributary of the River Irwell which runs through the area.

This is the second station in this locality as Cornbrook railway station was opened to serve Pomona Gardens on the south side of Cornbrook Road on 1 June 1856 by the Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway (MSJAR), which runs parallel to the Metrolink at this point.

Cornbrook station is served by bus services on nearby Chester Road.