The Liverpool, St Helens and South Lancashire Railway, was formed in 1889, but no services ran until 1895 and then only freight.

[6] A quarter-mile headshunt which ends at bufferstops approx 50 yards east of Bridge 13 over Edge Green Lane is the sole remaining section of the original route in use.

The Kelbit line was reopened in 2018 and is used by Heidelberg (formerly Hanson) to transfer raw materials from Shap Quarry, Cumbria to distribute across the north west.

Between and Golborne and Glazebrook High Speed 2 proposed use of an alignment similar to the disused line in Phase 2b.

[7] This "Golborne Link" was removed from HS2 plans before the northern leg was abandoned by the Conservative government in 2023.