It is located 7.5 miles (12 km) north-east of Liverpool Central and is on the Headbolt Lane branch of Merseyrail's Northern Line.

The L&BR subsequently became part of the main L&YR route between Manchester Victoria & Liverpool Exchange[1] and prior to the 1923 Grouping carried fast expresses between the two cities in addition to sizeable volumes of local passenger traffic and freight.

The closure plans were subsequently rejected by the government in December 1967 and the station then became part of the newly created Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive's rail network in 1969.

In order to maintain a through service to the city, the section from Walton Junction to Kirkby was third-rail electrified, with the remainder of the line towards Rainford and Wigan remaining diesel operated.

The rebuilt station consisted of a single platform on either side of the road overbridge, with a ticket office and waiting room at street level.

After a series of exploratory technical assessments and studies were carried out,[3][4] construction of the new station was announced by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority in August 2019, as part of a £172m funding package.

The train impacted a concrete structure separating the Merseyrail tracks from the Kirkby Branch Line and was derailed, causing some damage to the platform.

[10][11] Services at the station were interrupted due to the need to remove the train and assess and repair damage on both sides of the buffer stops, with rail replacement buses running until the end of March.

[12][13] An investigation by the British Transport Police revealed that the driver had been using his mobile phone whilst driving, and entered the station at excessive speed.