[1] In August 1859 the ELR was amalgamated with the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (LYR),[2] and in October that year, the station at Midge Hall was opened.

[3] It retained its original Lancashire and Yorkshire railway signalbox until 1972 until the general Preston area resignalling programme, whereupon the old box was demolished and replaced with a new construction on the opposite side of the level crossing.

The portion from here north to Farington Curve Junction was also singled in 1983, but the existing combination of track circuit block & key token operation was retained after completion of the work.

[5] A meeting held in 2003 concluded that whilst forecasted passenger numbers will likely be higher than that of the 1991 study (due largely to residential development in recent years), numbers may only be in the region of 10,000 to 30,000 and revenue from these passengers would likely still not cover the costs for reopening and thus remains uneconomical to reopen.

The aim is to have Preston one of the terminals of the Northern Line, with Burscough Junction, Rufford and Croston stations brought onto the Merseyrail network.