It lies on the Manchester-Preston Line 1+1⁄4 miles (2.0 km) south of Bolton, though only local services run by Northern call here.

Until the late 1970s, Moses Gate was one of the more important stations on the line between Manchester Victoria and Bolton, with Sunday service and high patronage.

[2] From early May 2015 until the December 2015 timetable change, services from the station were suspended and replaced by buses due to the ongoing modernisation work here (where the platforms have been rebuilt, ahead of planned electrification of the line) and on the route further south at Farnworth Tunnel.

A basic hourly service operates each way all day (with a few peak extras), southbound to Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge and northbound to Bolton and Southport via Wigan Wallgate.

[3] Saturday services were suspended and replaced by buses until November 2018 due to the (significantly delayed) ongoing work to electrify the route through Bolton.