Efforts to reintroduce rail services for Wantage and Grove have advanced following an assessment that identified a compelling strategic justification for a new station.
Oxfordshire County Council engaged SLC Rail to produce a Strategic Outline Case assessing whether Wantage & Grove Parkway station could be delivered.
The study estimated that the proposal might attract as many as approximately 1,400 daily passengers while creating a sound basis for subsequent development.
A station once served Wantage on the Wantage Tramway, which linked the town with Grove and the main rail network.
Passenger operations ended in 1925, and the line itself was shut in 1945.
Wantage consequently became one of England’s biggest towns without a railway station.
Support for a replacement has come from Oxfordshire County Council, local elected representatives, business organisations and campaigners.
They maintain that the expanding Wantage and Grove population requires improved rail connections to encourage economic development and lessen reliance on cars.
Several potential service patterns were considered during the research.
These included extending current train routes via Oxford or Didcot Parkway, as well as introducing longer journeys over the Great Western Main Line.
No final selection has yet been made regarding the station’s location or the services it should accommodate.
Oxfordshire County Council transport cabinet member Gareth Epps said the findings demonstrated the potential for further rail investment in Wantage and Grove and supported demands for a station that had been made over many years.
Council officials are continuing discussions with the rail industry.
A decision on whether to advance the scheme to its next business-case stage is anticipated in spring 2027.