A small village in Oxfordshire could be getting a state-of-the-art new railway station – costing up to £29million, despite having fewer than 800 residents.Ardley, which is on the Chiltern Main Line and has a population of around 740, has found itself potentially between two major attractions – designer outlet shopping centre Bicester Village and the new Puy du Fou theme park set to open in 2029. Oxfordshire County Council looked into the potential benefits the new hub would bring to the area and found there was a ‘credible basis’ for it being built, Oxford Mail reports. The council hopes the project could help improve rail connectivity in the region. It is estimated to cost between £24million and £29million.Conceptual designs of the station show two platforms, parking and accessible facilities. Ardley station shut down in 1963, but has been reported as a possible site for a new transport option to cope with increased visitor volume. Ardley railway station in Oxfordshire could be set to see its defunct station given an expensive makeover, thanks to its close proximity to the proposed site for the new Puy du Fou theme park (pictured) The village has less than 800 people but is perfectly placed close to the theme park site and also Bicester Village (Pictured: A general view of Oxfordshire)The new station would be located just a few miles from the site where plans were submitted last year for the major new theme park.Puy du Fou, which has its original site in France’s Loire region, will boast immersive, history-themed attractions, allowing visitors to step back in time to witness gladiator tournaments and Viking invasions.The company submitted an outline planning application to Cherwell District Council in August 2025, with hopes to open the UK location in stages starting from 2029.Puy du Fou’s proposal will be open from April to October each year and will include four period villages and 13 live shows.There will be three onsite hotels, each themed to different periods of British history as well as a conference centre.Councillor Gareth Epps, Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet member for transport, said: ‘A new station at Ardley is something we explored in last year’s OxRail 2040: Plan for Rail, our ambitious plan to improve rail transport and connectivity across Oxfordshire and the wider region. Plans for the new French theme park in Bicester released by Puy du Fou The new park will boast immersive, history-themed attractions, allowing visitors to step back in time to witness gladiator tournaments and Viking invasions’This latest study, which we commissioned, has shown that a station at Ardley could significantly enhance rail access for nearby communities currently reliant on road travel. ‘It could also serve a wider catchment area with appropriate infrastructure, mitigating the effects of wider proposed growth and transport changes.’ A rail freight interchange is being planned near to the village of Ardley too, the BBC reports. Locals have apparently raised concerns over the amount of traffic the project could lead to, but Oxfordshire Railfreight Limited, the company behind the hub, hopes it will ‘help reduce congestion, carbon emissions and pressure on the strategic road network’.