The railway line between and had opened as far as on 4 February 1841, and among the original stations on this route, the first station out of Bolton was at. On 20 November 1848, the Liverpool and Bury Railway was opened giving a route between Bolton and Wigan, and the point where it connected to the Bolton–Preston line was named Lostock Junction; the first station out of Bolton on this route was. Later, a station was constructed at the junction, also named Lostock Junction, which opened around August 1852. The station gave its name to the village which grew around it. This station had platforms on both the Preston and Wigan routes. On 17 July 1920, four people were killed and 148 were injured in a near head-on collision between two Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway passenger trains at Lostock Junction due to a signal having erroneously been passed at danger. Lostock Junction Station closed on 7 November 1966 as part of the programme of cuts initiated by the Beeching Report of 1963. However, on 16 May 1988 the station was reopened, but now with platforms only on the Preston route and renamed Lostock Parkway, a large car park for the use of park-and-ride commuters having been provided. The suffix "Parkway" was later dropped.
Services
The two-platform station is served by Northern Trains services to Manchester stations from Preston and Blackpool North. It is a popular commuter station. The Bolton-Wigan branch-line diverges just to the south of Lostock's platforms, but there are no longer any platforms on the branch to Wigan and Southport. The Network Rail North West Route Utilisation Strategy has recommended the construction of these additional platforms and they were planned to be reinstated as part of the Manchester TIF bid. Saturday and Sunday services were replaced by buses most weekends from May 2015 until November 2018 due to the late-running electrification work on the route. Weekend services resumed on Sunday 11 November 2018 after the completion of the electrification engineering work. Electric service commenced on Monday 11 February 2019, operated byClass 319electric multiple units.
Station improvements
Most recently in early 2009, the station has had a passenger information display system installed, giving waiting passengers on the platforms information about trains that are due to arrive. Fully computer automated, it is also equipped with an audio speaker system, giving the benefit of announcements of train arrivals and delays. During December 2008 - Spring 2009 the car park facilities were greatly improved by extending and resurfacing the land surrounding the railway, with the addition of floodlighting and CCTV.
Facilities
The station has a ticket office, which is manned from start of service until 19:35, six days per week. Outside these hours, tickets can be bought from a vending machine on either platform. Shelters are located on each platform and both have step-free access.
