[1] A branch of the West Coast Main Line from London Euston terminates at the station, as does the original Liverpool and Manchester Railway.

The first expansion, which was collaboratively produced by Joseph Locke, Richard Turner, William Fairbairn and John Kennedy, was completed in 1849 at a total cost of £15,000 (equivalent to £1,970,000 in 2023).

[3] During 1867, work upon a further expansion of Lime Street station commenced, during which time the present northern arched train shed was built.

Designed by William Baker and Francis Stevenson, the train shed was the largest such structure in the world upon completion, featuring a span of 200 feet (61 m), as well as the first to make extensive use of iron.

During the 1970s, a new urban rail network known as Merseyrail was developed, while all other long-distance terminal stations in Liverpool were closed, resulting in such services being centralised at Lime Street for the whole city.

[6] Since the 1970s, the main terminal building has also provided direct access to the underground Lime Street Wirral Line station on the Merseyrail network.

[8] The original terminus of the 1830 Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR) was located at Crown Street, in Edge Hill, to the east of and outside the city centre.

Accordingly, during October 1833, the construction commenced on a purpose-built station at Lime Street in the city centre; the land was purchased from Liverpool Corporation for £9,000 (equivalent to £1,080,000 in 2023).

Amongst the features which date back to the 1846–1849 rebuild of the station are a group of four columns which adjoin former Platform 1, they have been attributed to engineer Edward Woods.

[11][21] During 1867, further expansion of Lime Street Station was required to cope with operational demands; changes included the present northern arched train shed.

Designed by William Baker and Francis Stevenson[22][23][nb 1] the train shed featured a span of 200 feet (61 m), leading to it being recognised as the largest such structure in the world at the time.

[19][nb 3] Lime Street Station is fronted by a large building, built in the Renaissance Revival style, which formerly housed the North Western Hotel.

[38][39][40][41] On 11 August 1968, the Fifteen Guinea Special, a return service to Carlisle, was hauled by the Black Five locomotive 45110 from Liverpool to Manchester Victoria and back.

Arriving back at Lime Street at 7:58 pm, this train marked the end of British Railways' final steam-hauled mainline passenger journey.

[13][42] An office tower block named Concourse House, along with a row of small retail outlets, used to stand outside the southern train shed, obscuring the arches.

[nb 4] As a consequence of this restructuring and rationalization, only Lime Street remained as a terminus, thus serving as a central point for the whole region for medium- and long-haul routes.

[50] To help celebrate several high-profile occasions, such as Liverpool's role as European Capital of Culture during 2008, and the city's 800th anniversary in 2007, a £35 million redevelopment grant was issued for the station and its immediate surroundings.

The Lime Street Gateway Project saw the demolition of the aging retail parade and office block located in front of the station, and an improved frontage and public plaza constructed in its place.

[54] Completion of electrification of the former Liverpool and Manchester Railway's route, and the line to Wigan via St Helens Central, during May 2015 led to a recast of timetables.

[62][63][64] During 2017, work commenced upon a £340 million remodelling programme intended to improve Lime Street Station by modernising its signalling systems, install new platforms, and other to better conform with current demands.

[65] A major impetus for the work was the age of the station's signalling, the core of which dated from the 1940s and was increasingly difficult to acquire knowledgeable staff for its operation and maintenance; furthermore, as resignalling of the existing station layout offered only slightly less work than the implementation of an entirely fresh layout, only without the benefits of being able to do so, it was decided to take the rare occasion as a convenient chance to make various alterations and improvements at the same time.

[66][67] According to industry publication Rail Engineer, the old layout of the station was relatively complex and posed some operational difficulties; many of the alterations sought to ease or eliminate some of these issues.

The new layout provides five platforms on each side of the station; beyond being simpler, the change facilitates the departure speed being increased from 15 to 25 mph and is also compatible with being maintained by modern mechanised equipment.

[35] In conjunction with the layout changes, new Mk3D overhead line equipment was installed along the route between Lime Street station and Edge Hill.

[65] To accommodate the work, the station was mostly closed over a twenty-three day period, which started on 30 September 2017; during the latter stages of this blockade, limited services ran to/from Huyton and some destinations beyond this.

The concourse of the station contains several shops, including branches of M&S Simply Food, Starbucks, Upper Crust, Krispy Kreme, Costa Coffee, Boots and WHSmith.

[74] London Northwestern Railway currently operate an hourly service to Birmingham New Street via Stafford, calling at the local stations between Runcorn and Crewe.

[77] Transport for Wales operate an hourly service to Chester via Runcorn, using the Halton Curve with daily extensions to Wrexham General in the evening peak.

[81] In a long term rail strategy by Merseytravel, new direct services to Cardiff, Bristol, Leicester, Derby, Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley have been proposed.

As part of the award, the new operator will look at providing up to two trains per hour between Liverpool Lime Street and London Euston from December 2022, subject to approval by the Office of Rail and Road.