News
27 October, 2026
Trees to go in planned station upgrade
Concerns are growing over plans to remove a number of trees as part of an upgrade to Exeter Railway Station.
Concerns are growing over plans to remove a number of trees as part of an upgrade to Exeter Railway Station.
The Heritage Council of NSW is seeking public comments on a Section 60 application for works at the station, which falls within the curtilage of a State Heritage Register item.
Submissions will close at 5pm this Friday (October 30).
The Exeter Station Platform Renewal Project is designed to address platform stability and safety issues by reconstructing both station platforms, improving drainage and accessibility, installing new lighting and platform furniture, undertaking landscaping works and removing and planting new trees.
The works would involve the complete demolition of the two existing platforms and the construction of new narrower platforms.
The station has been the site of a number of train strikes since 2006 – incidents where the train actually strikes the platform – resulting in speed restrictions and constant platform monitoring.
Sydney Trains says the problem cannot be resolved through track redesigning because of the “constraining nature” of the platforms.
A total of 15 trees would be removed – 14 of them because of “fatal encroachments” on their root zones” and one because it is considered an undesirable invasive weed species.
An arborist reports says the 14 trees earmarked for removal are located “within or directly adjacent to the proposed construction footprint and cannot be retained under the current proposal”.
Local residents acknowledge the trees are problematic but have asked whether alternatives have been considered – including root pruning or “root-sensitive construction methods” – particularly in relation to six mature deodar cedars.
One suggestion to save the trees is for the construction of a concrete root barrier.
Other residents accept the tree removal is completely necessary given current safety risks to passengers and rail staff.
Members of the Exeter Village Association (EVA) met at the station last Friday to review the proposed works.
It says “big changes” are planned for the station but it is the removal of large trees that is “perhaps most concerning for many locals”.
The EVA says it will continue to review the proposal and feedback from Exeter residents before making a submission.
A Statement of Heritage Impact currently on exhibition says the project would have a “moderate adverse” impact on the station’s overall heritage values.
“This would be due to considerable and permanent alterations to the station’s significant fabric and appearance, which has remained largely unaltered since the duplication of the rail line in 1915,” the report said.
Exeter Railway Station – officially opened in 1878 – was originally known as Badgery’s Siding before being renamed Exeter in 1890.
It is considered one of the best ‘small station complexes’ in NSW.
One railway buff has described it on Facebook as a “special old railway station”.
In March 1915, 15 people died as a result of a head-on collision approximately 200 metres north of Exeter station.
At the time it stood as one of the worst rail disasters in NSW history.
A plaque commemorating the disaster will be retained in its existing orientation as part of the proposed works however, a ‘memorial tree’ will be replaced. For more information or to have your say on the proposal go to https://www.haveyoursay.nsw.gov.au/exeter-rs
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