An application for £6.8m has been made to the UK Government for a station and interchange, including parking and bus stops, at Bow Street near Aberystwyth.
The Welsh Government has provided £1.7m, including expenditure, to date.
The station closed as a result of the Beeching cuts and there have been campaigns for it to be reinstated.
Proposals for a new station have been shown at a public event and it is hoped it will open in 2019.
Economy Secretary Ken Skates said: "We've been working very closely with the local authority, local interest groups and the railway industry to ensure that proposals result in the station and interchange development starting on the ground in April 2018."
A village in Ceredigion could soon have a new railway station if the Welsh Government is successful in its funding application.