 Services were increased in 1856 when the Carlisle and Silloth Bay Railway opened its line to , also using Carlisle Canal station as its Carlisle terminus.The station served as a terminus for passenger services, but tracks made an end-on junction ("Canal Junction") with the North Eastern Railway a short distance south of the station.Passenger services could have continued through to points east of Carlisle, but that didn't happen in the station's lifetime.