The station was elevated with ramps for road vehicles to access the station. The existing station could not cope with demand by the 1880s. The approaches were widened to accommodate more tracks. The station was extensively rebuilt and enlarged between 1886 and 1888, opening on 2 July 1888. Its site expanded from the original location to cover Clarke's Basin (the original end of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal). The station continued to be the Liverpool terminus of the LYR and was also the terminus of the company's Liverpool to Manchester line.