Much-missed local train services such as Birmingham's Camp Hill line could be reinstated under plans for the London Midland rail franchise.
The Department for Transport revealed that it was ordering rail operators to work with local councils and the new West Midlands Combined Authority to consider whether it was possible to re-open the line, which links Moseley, Kings Heath, Kings Norton and the city centre.
The Camp Hill Line is still used for freight but passenger services ended in the 1940s.
However, the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has already said it hopes to talk to Government about re-opening it. Reviving the service could also mean re-opening Moseley train station.
And WMCA has also received £4.4bn to deliver on plans to ensure the region's economy grows as a result of the planned HS2 high speed rail line - which included Camp Hill and Sutton Park lines.
So the announcement that the Department for Transport (DfT) is getting behind the idea suggests it's getting closer to becoming a reality.
The Department has now said it is telling rail operators to look at whether it is possible to revive a number of old lines or open new services, including:
The Camp Hill Line from central Birmingham to Kings Norton via Moseley
The Sutton Park Line, running from Walsall to central Birmingham via Sutton Coldfield
A Walsall to Stourbridge line
A Lichfield to Burton-on-Trent line
A Walsall to Lichfield line
It's a response to requests from passengers who took part in a consultation about the future of the West Midlands franchise. This is often known as the London Midlands franchise, after the business that currently operates it.
The Government has invited bids to take over the service from 2017, and whoever gets the contract will run the franchise until March 2026.
A Department for Transport document said: "Some respondents to the consultation asked for a number of specific new, more frequent or reinstated services to be provfded.
"Many of these are only deliverable with significant investment and infrastructure work."
It said the firm which takes over the franchise would work with local councils, the local rail authority and Network Rail, which is responsible for rail infrastructure.
"We are requiring that the franchisee work with West Midlands Rail, Network Rail, the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), Local Authorities and other organisations to see how these schemes could be progressed and delivered in the future."
The Camp Hill rail line mapped
The West Midlands franchise includes local services stopping at stations within Birmingham, Walsall, Wolverhampton and the rest of the Black Country, as well as throughout the wider West Midlands including Lichfield, Shrewsbury, Redditch and Worcester, Stratford and Coventry.
And it includes long distance services between the West Midlands, Liverpool and London Euston.
Two firms are bidding to run the service once the current contract runs out in 2017. They include London and West Midlands Railway Ltd, a subsidiary of transport firm Govia which owns London Midland, the current operator.
The other bidder is West Midlands trains Ltd, which is owned by Dutch firm Abellio and Japanese firms East Japan Railway Company and Mitsui & Co.
Whoever gets the contract will run the franchise until March 2026.
