The line opened on 1 September 1864 with stations at Worsley, Ellenbrook, Tyldesley, Leigh and Pennington before joining the Liverpool and Manchester Railway at Kenyon Junction.
The London and North Western Railway Bill received royal assent in July 1861 and the first sod was cut at Worsley by the Earl of Ellesmere in the September.
[2] Stations between Tyldesley and Wigan at Chowbent, Hindley Green and Platt Bridge opened on the same day.
[8] The former trackbed which passes through the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan area was reserved in the Unitary Development Plan in case the rail route could be reinstated.
[11] Salford City Council used the railway trackbed outside the Wigan boundary for recreational purposes turning it into a rail trail.