[3] From that date all trains ran Carnforth, the WCML, Hest Bank North Junction and the former LNWR Morecambe branch line to reach their destination.

This routing had one major drawback in that travellers could no longer reach Lancaster directly, instead having to change at Carnforth onto Furness line services – a situation that would remain unchanged until the early 1980s.

From 1982 however the line's timetable was modified, with several services speeded up (by omitting the intermediate station calls north of Skipton) and diverted to run via Lancaster to provide connections into and out of WCML trains to and from Carlisle & Glasgow.

Had these plans come to fruition, the route would also have been used by a twice-daily replacement Leeds–Carlisle service via the WCML which would have reversed in the loops immediately south of Carnforth station (details were provided in the 'Heads of Information' document issued by BR to all objectors to the 1983 closure proposals).

The biggest change though came in 1990–91, when a DMU shortage led to BR summarily cutting the service frequency almost in half – from seven trains each way per day to just four, of which only one ran beyond Lancaster.

[6] An extra weekday train in each direction was subsequently added in May 1995 (bringing the total to five) and through running to Morecambe restored, but despite the efforts of the user group and the various local authorities along the line (which had its own Community Rail partnership set up in 2006 and was formally designated as a Community rail line in October 2012[7]), the current service frequency remains less than ideal with large gaps (of up to four hours) between trains.

Northern has also stated its intention to upgrade facilities at various stations on the route over the next few years - these will include the provision of customer information screens, LED lighting, video help points and self-service ticket machines at each location.

[14] A recent report by Modern Railways claimed that a solid hourly service would operate on the line as far as Long Preston, but would serve Carlisle and Lancaster alternately.