The railway station has long been troubled by vandalism and has been in a state of disrepair for some time.

The Glen Innes Severn Council terminated their lease of the railway station building with John Holland Rail (JHR) because of the ongoing cost of repairing the damage caused by vandalism.

BIG President Jim Ritchie said they would like to take over the lease so that the building can be kept as an asset for the town.

“We have managed to get a seat at the negotiating table and we are in the process of finding out what the requirements are in regards to the costs of insurance and what we need to do to secure the lease,” he said.

“We would like to see something positive happen with the railway building and retain it as an asset for the town.

“We’d like to look after it and make the building shine again.”

Mr Ritchie said BIG will make a decision after they gathered more information.

“We may find we can’t afford to do it but we’d like the building to be cared for and we don’t want to see it falling into a heap,” he said.

“If it is viable to do something with the building then we will go ahead and try to come to terms on a lease.”

Glen Innes Severn Community Development President David Allenberg congratulated BIG on pursuing the leasing option.

“To see the boards on the railway station windows taken down, and the building and gardens come back to life, and the building being put to good use will bring great community pride to many people,’ he said.

“We sincerely hope our community will support BIG with the Glen Innes Railway Station project to ensure it is a success and has ongoing viability.

“We wish BIG well in their endeavours.”