Could this Black Country town finally be about to get a train station?

Transport for West Midlands, along with Walsall Council, has submitted a funding bid for a new railway station in Willenhall, with a decision expected early next year.

This bid is part of the New Stations Fund 2 and, if successful, construction of a new station would start during the next franchise, which runs from 2017 until 2026.

Leader of Walsall Council, Councillor Sean Coughlan said: "Willenhall hasn't seen any significant public transport investment since the town's railway station was closed in 1965 and I know residents will be keeping their fingers crossed that the bid is successful."

Walsall Council say that the forecasted development growth in Willenhall over the next 10 years would be supported by the construction of a new railway station, giving new and existing residents reliable public transport helping to remove reliance on private transport.

Councillor Lee Jeavons, portfolio holder for regeneration said: "A new station in Willenhall, located along the Walsall to Wolverhampton rail line, would aid in unlocking the economic potential of the district by providing reliable and distinct public transport choices."

Discussions over the benefits of introducing a railway station in the town have been going on for years, but this is the most concrete step towards seeing it become a reality so far. In 2012, a proposal was unveiled for a £4 million station with two platforms and car park in Bilston Street, but no firm plans have since been put forward after that fell through.

In October Willenhall North Councillor Ian Shires said his Liberal Democrat team were pressing the West Midlands Combined Authority to build a tram-train station in the town after it was declared last year that the long mooted '5 W's' metro link, connecting the town to the rest of the Black Country, was 'dead'. A tram-train can use both tram tracks and railway tracks, allowing the two networks to be connected.