Stockport-Stalybridge passenger service ran on this line until 25 September 1950. The line was closed completely in 1968 and was dismantled in the early 1970s. As it ran mostly on brick viaducts, which have since been demolished, little physical trace now remains of the line. Closure proposal Network Rail, in their Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS) for the North West, proposed closure of Reddish South and Denton stations and withdrawal of the remaining passenger service. The report noted however that the cost of withdrawing the service (closure notices, dealing with objections, etc.) would be greater than the costs of operating the weekly service (Network Rail, in their North Western RUS, noted that the cost of each trip was just £96). The line itself would have remained open for empty stock transfers, freight and diverted passenger workings. The threat was withdrawn in May 2007, possibly temporarily, when GMPTE suggested it was to support three trains per hour between Stockport and Manchester Victoria. In September 2006, Grand Central, an open access train operating company, had proposed using the line for passenger services between London Euston and Bradford Interchange via the West Coast Main Line, using Stockport, Guide Bridge and Stalybridge stations as a stop. These proposals were withdrawn in August 2008. Service Before May 2018, the service operated in one direction only, on a Friday morning, leaving Stockport at 09:22 and arriving in Stalybridge at 09:42 (with train reporting number 2J45). In the 20 May 2018 timetable changes, Northern introduced a second (return) journey on the line, as well as shifting the day of operation to Saturday, meaning that Reddish South and Denton received a timetabled passenger services in both directions for the first time since 1992. In the May 2020 timetable the first train departs from Stalybridge at 08:46, arriving in Stockport at 09:08, with train reporting number 2J44. The train then makes a return journey leaving Stockport at 09:45 and arriving in Stalybridge at 10:05, with train reporting number 2J45. These services operate every Saturday from May 2020, and call at the intermediate stations in both directions. Reinstatement of regular passenger service In March 2020, a bid was made to the Restoring Your Railway fund to pay for a feasibility study into reinstating services on the Stockport to Ashton via Denton Junction section of the line. This bid was unsuccessful. In October 2021, it was announced by the UK government that