The direct line to Liverpool Brunswick was opened in 1873 and, from then, the CLC used this more direct route between Manchester London Road and . The route was further improved when Liverpool Central station opened on 1 March 1874, bringing trains into the city centre. The station was situated on Ranelagh Street on the edge of the city centre and was a much grander station of three stories with a large arched roof and six platform faces. At the same time as Central opened, Brunswick closed to passenger traffic; it became a goods station and a much larger warehouse was built around the original station building. The building was so large, about , it was long enough to write the owners names in full "Great Northern, Manchester Sheffield & Lincolnshire and Midland Railways".