freight service and had a licensed buffet. There was a large marshalling yard about a mile east of Guide Bridge at Dewsnap. There was also a stabling point immediately to the east of Guide Bridge station, where engines could be fuelled. Guide Bridge was also where the local Retail Coal Merchants transferred coal from British Rail coal wagons, carefully weighed into one hundredweight sacks for delivery to homes around Ashton, Audenshaw and Denton. Express passenger trains via the Woodhead line ceased operation on 5 January 1970, but Dewsnap sidings and Guide Bridge stabling point were busy until the final closure of the Woodhead Line east of Hadfield on 20 July 1981. The Class 76 electric locomotives were a frequent sight here, along with Class 25, Class 40 and numerous others classes of diesels. The former TransPennine Express operator, Arriva Trains Northern, had plans to establish Guide Bridge as a major interchange station, coupled with hopes that the Woodhead line might re-open. Such aspirations seem to have fallen by the wayside, however, since First TransPennine Express took over the franchise. On 22 October 2006, a fire gutted the waiting room, footbridge and ticket office. The fire has subsequently been attributed to arson and caused around £1m of damage to the station, necessitating the demolition of the footbridge. This has not been rebuilt, necessitating a lengthy walk out of the station and along the adjacent main road to change platforms. In January 2009, the previously free car parking was abolished, with a daily charge of £3 being introduced. As a result, the once busy car park largely fell quiet. A subsequent review was taken, following complaints from neighbouring residents, with backing of local councillors over the re-distribution of cars once parked on the ample station facility to the surrounding residential streets with charging dismissed soon afterwards. Facilities A new single-storey ticket office was commissioned in December 2014; it was built on the former island platform (now platform 1), as part of a £1.7 million revamp of the station. Improved lighting, an extended car park with 140 spaces, CCTV cameras and cycle storage lockers were also provided. The new facilities were opened officially by the Minister of State for Transport Baroness Kramer. Services The current service at Guide Bridge consists of a half-hourly Manchester Piccadilly-Hadfield EMU service, increasing to every 20 minutes during weekday peak periods, and a half-hourly DMU service between Piccadilly