It is between Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes, and stands between the River Ore and Lochty Burn,[3] which are at opposite ends of the main street.

This rail halt was opened in May 1992, restoring a rail service to Thornton lost when its main line railway station closed in October 1969[3] as a consequence of the 1963 report by Dr Richard Beeching on the Reshaping of British Railways (the Beeching Report).

The village is well served by local buses, operated by Stagecoach Group in Fife and running between Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes.

The state-of-the art engineering and design was closed, leaving the huge enclosed concrete wheel-towers standing at Thornton for many years as a forlorn symbol of the collapse until 1993, when the towers were demolished.

The village is home to the football club Thornton Hibs who compete in the East of Scotland League First Division and play at Memorial Park.

Thornton is also the birthplace of Sir George Sharp,[8] a Labour politician who led the battle against local government reforms in the 1970s.