A public transport system never touched Lower Gornal until the appearance of the motor bus, however Upper Gornal was well connected with the advent of the tramway in the 1880s which ran between Wolverhampton and Dudley.

The topography of the district is not suitable for the railway or canal systems that were expanding elsewhere in the Black Country during the early part of the 19th Century.
However there were plans in 1836 to take a 'Cut' through Gornal!
Linking the Stourbridge Navigation at Bromley, Kingswinford to the Birmingham Navigation at Coseley, was proposed, the route mentions Shut End, The Oak, Gornal Wood, Streights, Cotwall End, Turners Hill, Moden Hill and Upper Gornal.
It appears the plans were quickly abandoned as untenable.

From the 1920s, trolley buses operated along the tram route from Wolverhampton to Dudley via Upper Gornal, an omnibus service also ran from Dudley to Gornal Wood from around this time.

A rail service with a stop at Gornal Halt - just over the Pensnett border was operated in the 1920s for a short time.

Other than this, and before the advent of the automobile, only horses, carts and shanks's pony could provide transport for the locals, further leading to the isolation of the district.