The station was built by the Manchester and Southport Railway and opened on 9 April 1855, and from January 1885 was part of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. The main stone-built station building was built during this time, in the standard L&YR style. The L&YR amalgamated with the London and North Western Railway on 1 January 1922 and in turn was grouped into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923. Nationalisation followed in 1948. When Sectorisation was introduced in the 1980s, the station was served by Regional Railways until the privatisation of British Rail. Until 1962, when this passenger service was withdrawn, trains from Southport to Burscough Bridge could continue to Burscough Junction and onto Ormskirk by means of one of the two curves that linked Wigan to Southport route with the ex-East Lancashire Railway main line between and. Both connections have since been lifted, but the formations remain and there have been calls from various parties to reopen them to allow through running from Southport to both Ormskirk and Preston. The main buildings on the Wigan-bound platform still stand, but are now in private residential use.
Interchange
This station is not to be confused with Burscough Junction, which is also in Burscough, but on the Ormskirk - Preston line. A bus interchange has been constructed next to the station to transport passengers between Burscough Bridge and Burscough Junction, including a shop and cafe. A ticket office was built within the complex; this opened in 2005, but was closed on 25 June 2016 due to council budget cuts. A public notice from Lancashire County Council informs passages that the nearest staffed station is either Ormskirk or Parbold. There is step-free access to both platforms.
During the rail restructuring of the 1960s and 1970s, the "Burscough Curves", which formed a link between the Ormskirk-Preston and Southport-Wigan lines were removed, although the formation survives. The North Curve was taken out of use and severed in July 1969, being lifted in 1973: it was last used for a Saturdays only empty train from Blackpool to Southport. The South Curve was singled in 1970, but remained in use to serve the extensive sidings at the MOD depot located just to the north of Burscough Junction station. It saw its last train in 1982. The passenger service from Ormskirk to Burscough Junction and on to Southport, which used the southern curve, was withdrawn in 1962 as can be seen from the British Rail London Midland Region Timetable of that year. Pressure from local transport groups, West Lancashire Borough Council and former Southport MP John Pugh has not so far persuaded Network Rail to reinstate the curves. Various schemes have been proposed, including the full electrification of the line from Southport via Burscough to Ormskirk using the same third rail system as Merseyrail. This proposal would allow users of the Ormskirk branch of Merseyrail's Northern Line to reach Southport without having to travel via Sandhills. In June 2009, the Association of Train Operating Companies, in its report, called for funding for the reopening of this line as part of a £500m scheme to open 33 stations on 14 lines closed in the Beeching Axe, including seven new parkway stations. The uses of the curves in a new service pattern has been identified by Network Rail, if electrified along with the through lines. Additionally, Network Rail has identified electrification of Wigan to Southport, together with the Ormskirk to Preston Line and the Burscough Curves as a possible source of new services.
MP unification
In March 2020, the MPs for Southport, South Ribble, West Lancs and Preston along with Lancashire County Council leader Geoff Driver united in a bid to pressure Network Rail and the Government to reinstate the curves.
Services
On Monday to Saturday daytimes, there are two trains an hour westbound to Southport and eastbound to Wigan. The latter now continue to Manchester Victoria and, thence alternately to and or to via. Only two morning peak trains now serve and Manchester Piccadilly - these then continue to Stockport and. All other trains run via and passengers for destinations on the south side of Manchester must change at either or. On Sundays there is an hourly service to Southport and Blackburn via Manchester Victoria.
