Historic rail station set for demolition after seven-year fight to save it

Transport for NSW has announced plans to demolish the West Tamworth Railway station building and install a "heritage interpretation" in its place.

Meanwhile they will restore the adjacent station master's residence - built in 1877 - and lease it out to a local business.

Tamworth Historical Society member Melinda Gills says she understands the rail authority decision, but is sad to see the loss of another local historic building.

"It is a shame that they have decided to demolish the West Tamworth Railway," she said.

"We knew the station master's residence was in better condition to be restored and used. West Tamworth Railway Station was going to be a tricky one due to its condition."

The station master's residence has been vacant for the last decade, while the 1878 station building was left dormant for more than 40 years.

"It [the railway station] is in a very bad state," Ms Gill said.

"It has termites, asbestos, and it is a hazard in its present state. So, when it does come to the demolition, hopefully some of it can be salvaged for later on."

The decision to demolish the 145-year-old building comes after seven years of back-and-forth between Tamworth Regional Council (TRC), Rail Transport NSW, and the local community.

Two rounds of community consultation were held, reaching more than 23,600 people and eliciting around 350 responses.

Transport for NSW regional director, north, Anna Zycki, said thanked members of the community for their active participation.

"Overall, respondents prioritised activating Tamworth Station Master's Residence as a short-term action but understood that improvements to West Tamworth Railway Station site would be more complex," she said.

Transport for NSW is still exploring options for what the heritage interpretation will look like, and has so far not allocated funds to the demolition, heritage interpretation, nor the restoration of the station master's residence.

Tamworth councillor Helen Tickle said she's grateful to Transport for NSW for the work it has done so far and the commitment to building a heritage interpretation on top of restoring the station master's residence.

"Having a heritage interpretation at the site is something we did ask for and I'm very pleased that will be part of the overall program," Cr Tickle said.

"As for the station master's residence, we're thrilled that they've made the decision to restore that because it has a lot of historical significance and it's also a building which can be readily occupied."

The councillor said the house's central location meant there was nearly no limit on its possible uses once it was restored.

Despite understanding the reasoning for tearing down the old rail station, both Cr Tickle and Ms Gill said they hoped this outcome served as a reminder to preserve and maintain our history.

"We keep losing so many of our historic buildings," Ms Gill said.

"We had the Capital Theatre; where Centrepoint is now, there was a beautiful theatre that was demolished.

"We have had so many buildings that no longer exist. I want to stop more of that from happening, but you don't always win everything."

Cr Tickle said the state government should provide an ongoing maintenance program for all the region's government-owned buildings.

The West Tamworth Railway Station was the first railway station in Tamworth which transported goods on the northern rail line from Sydney.

The line was used up until the early 1980s.