There are two distinct camps when it comes to Lismore's old railway line, those who want to re-establish rail transportation within the Northern Rivers and those who want to use it as a Rail Trail.

Northern Rivers Rail Ltd (NRRL) have not been impressed with the site of railway tracks being pulled up and placed near the Lismore Railway Station recently.

"This is part of a new bike ‘rail trail’ that is proposed by Lismore City Council, to connect up with the Richmond Valley bike path at Bentley," a NRRL said in a statement.

Tenders will be discussed for the construction of the Lismore to Bentley Rail Trail in a confidential session at next Tuesday night's Lismore City Council (LCC) meeting.

The NRRL claim is that the final business plan has not yet been approved and this needs to be done by next week's meeting or it cannot go ahead. So, they are questioning how the removal of railway tracks could occur before approval.

An LCC spokesperson told the Lismore App, "Lismore City Council has an executed lease and relevant approvals for the first stage of the Lismore section of the Northern Rivers Rail Trail with the Transport Asset Holding Entity of New South Wales (TAHE), a state-owned corporation of the New South Wales Government that manages rail property assets."

"The lease encompasses the undertaking of infrastructure works, including the demolition and removal of the track infrastructure and the construction, installation and commissioning of the Rail Trail."

"The Northern Rivers Rail Trail will stimulate opportunities for growth in both new and established businesses, supporting local jobs. This strategic economic development project is set to bring benefits not only to Lismore but the entire Northern Rivers region."

It is certainly looking like the NRRL will not stop the development of the new Rail Trail, however, the group is determined to extend the existing Byron railway line.

"We want to bring the trains back. We want to assure locals that interim licenses are currently held on the rest of the track up to Yelgun. A study of the condition of the tracks is almost complete. This will show the true costs of fixing and returning train services to our line," the statement read.

"NRRL has surveyed 1,200 residents and found great support for passenger trains in the Northern Rivers. There is no social license to rip up our tracks. There has never been any community consultation since the late-night XPT service was stopped in 2004."

"The focus is first on extending climate-friendly train services to Mullumbimby, from where the Byron Bay Solar Train terminates at Bayshore Drive. Then up to Bangalow and up to Billinudgel and Yelgun in the north, and to Eltham, Bexhill and Lismore in the west."

"The return of train journeys to our region will mean that those who cannot or don’t want to drive a car, can ride in comfort and safety. By taking many vehicles off the road we will be countering climate change."

"Train travel will support many young, elderly, the movement and vision impaired, commuters and tourists to get around our beautiful North Coast."

The question now is, can the two co-exist? Or is the Lismore LGA a step too far for the NRRL to make it a reality?