When first opened, it was also on the main LNWR line from London to and Scotland (what is now the West Coast Main Line) thanks to a number of company mergers & acquisitions - the former North Union Railway's branch from Parkside Junction (east of the new station) to had opened back in 1832 and the completion of a north to west curve round to on 1 January 1847 by the Grand Junction Railway had allowed through running to commence from London Euston and Birmingham New Street via the original "Newton Junction" (the modern day ), then over the L&M and onwards to Wigan and the north from that date. Within three years however, the heavily congested section of the L&M through the station was bypassed for north–south traffic with the opening of a cut-off line from Winwick Junction to Golborne, though local stopping trains between and Wigan continued to call thereafter. The station was also well served by trains between and Liverpool Lime Street (many of which were routed via Leigh) and also to General via Warrington and the Birkenhead Joint Railway. The connections to the WCML also provided a useful diversionary route for trains to Preston & beyond from both Manchester & Liverpool - these were utilised by British Rail when they set up a Motorail terminal at the station in the 1960s, which offered through trains to Stirling & Inverness and to .