[6] The report proposes extending the line from Ormskirk railway station by laying 3 miles of new single track along the previous route towards Rainford Junction, at a cost estimated to be in the region of £31m.
Merseytravel were represented on a board led by Lancashire County Council who developed a flowchart detailing how the scheme may be delivered.
This would give Skelmersdale, the second largest town in North West England without a railway service, direct access to Liverpool city centre.
[13] County Council Transport portfolio holder John Fillis said that the site "is big enough to provide a high quality station with scope to expand to meet future demand.".
[14] By September, Merseytravel announced that they would be committing £765,000 to the study into the re-opening, estimating that the station could be open within a decade with a lot of additional funding.
[15] On page 36 of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, Long Term Rail Strategy document of October 2017, it states that Merseytravel is currently working with Lancashire County Council and Network Rail to develop a plan to extend the Merseyrail network from Kirkby through to Skelmersdale, with work completed in 2019.
[18][19][20] In July 2022, the Department for Transport (DfT) rejected Lancashire County Council's Strategic Outline Business Case.