The chance to press ahead with reopening Wantage and Grove station could come as early as 2013, according to a new county council vision for the railways.

The creation of a new Wantage Road station has been proposed for decades.

Now a major new County Hall Rail strategy says the re-tendering of the Great Western franchise in two years’ time may present the best chance yet of reopening the station.

It is calling for a business case to be proven commercially.

The document says: “With changes in spatial planning and plans for extensive new housing in the area, as well as the strategic importance of Science Vale UK, the time is right to look again at the potential for Grove & Wantage station.

“The franchise renewal in 2013 may provide an opportunity to seek an appropriate train service – possibly releasing capacity on longer distance services by encouraging local travel between Swindon and Didcot to be made on ‘local’ services.”

County Hall says that a business case is needed to show why services linking Bicester and Oxford to Swindon and Bristol should be reinstated to help growth and economic development.

The councillor responsible for the strategy, Rodney Rose, said it is important that the station site is protected when the line is upgraded.

Rail companies hoping to run the Great Western franchise from 2013 could be encouraged to look at the scheme, and economic growth could turn it into a commercial opportunity.

He said: “The more Science Vale develops, the more there might be an interest in this.

“It is a major growth area for Oxfordshire.”

The Wantage Road station closed after the Beeching Report in the 1960s.