GROVE train station should be one of seven reopened in England, according to a new report by the body representing Britain’s rail franchises.

The Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) believes that £4m should be spent on reopening Grove station on the line from Didcot to Swindon, although local residents remain pessimistic.

It estimates that the benefits of reconnecting the village would far outweigh the cost of reinstatement.

The report has been welcomed by campaigners for better train services in the county, but met with pessimism by Grove residents after repeated attempts to reopen the station, which was closed in 1965.

The report also states that the reopening of Witney railway station at a cost of £95m should be “evaluated” for Government assistance with the capital costs, because once reopened, it could operate profitably.

A spokesman for Railfuture in Oxfordshire, Hugh Jaeger, said: “Railfuture has long campaigned for the reopening of the former station at Grove and former railway to Witney.

“We welcome ATOC’s report as proof that there is now a serious business case for considering both proposals.”

In October 2007, Oxford-shire County Council was granted outline planning permission for a new station at Grove by the Vale of White Horse District Council.

However, the Department for Transport said it would not make money available for new rail links until 2014. The county council’s rail development officer, Adrian Saunders, said: “We haven’t taken a view on the report as such.

“It only came out last week and we still need to know from ATOC the basis of their assumptions.”

Transport Minister Chris Mole said: “The Government’s priority is to bring about changes, such as capacity improvements, which will deliver benefits for rail passengers now.

“For the longer term, we will work with local authorities who want to improve links to the rail network, and will plan to make funding available from 2014 for successful schemes which demonstrate value for money.”

Don Summers, a retired atomic energy worker from Hawthorne Crescent, Grove said: ““My feeling is that if it made commercial sense, the train operator would have pursued it already.”