mayor Steve Bucknell has made a bid for the Wootton Bassett railway station to be reopened more than 40 years after the last train stopped there.

The station, near the Beaufort Arms pub in Station Road, was closed along with 2,000 other stations in the 1960s in widespread cuts ordered by Dr Beeching, and demolished in 1972.

But Mr Bucknell is hopeful that the station will be added to a list of seven stations currently under consideration as future parkway stations – out of town stations with car parks to encourage rail use. He said: “The Association of Train Operating Companies has written a report calling for new stations and lines to be added around the country and I have asked for Wootton Bassett to be added to the cases to be evaluated.

“There is huge local support for the re-opening of the station in Wootton Bassett and people have been interested in reopening it for some time now. Obviously it would have a great impact on employment in the town because employers would want to come to Wootton Bassett if the transport links were improved.

“It would also improve people’s ability to get to other places for work. Apart from that it would allow people to go shopping in other towns and on days out, as well as making links with London a lot better.”

This is not the first time Mr Bucknell has been involved in a campaign to reopen the station, which would stop people having to travel to Swindon for rail transport.

“When I was a district councillor many moons ago there were an awful lot of people in favour of reopening the station,” he said.

“I just think it would improve the robustness of the town.”