A Taree Railway Station employee was assaulted during a robbery at the premises in the early hours of Monday, April 1.
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At about 1.50am, four people wearing dark hooded clothing, face masks and gloves smashed the glass doors of the luggage room and office.
The assailants then demanded money from a 62-year-old male employee and proceeded to assault him with weapons. They stole a small amount of cash and fled the scene.
The employee contacted police and ambulance, who arrived promptly.
He was treated at the scene by paramedics for injuries to his forehead and forearm and didn't require hospitalisation.
Manning Great Lakes Police District chief inspector Christine George said officers began a forensic examination after the incident occurred.
Public information is also sought.
"At this stage we are appealing for any members of the public who may have seen four people dressed in dark clothing with their faces covered anywhere in the vicinity of the railway station around 1.50am this morning," Chief Inspector George said.
The employee was closing up for the night after the arrival of a train at 1.30am.
A former railway employee, Barry Seghers said the station should be armed with more security in addition to the CCTV camera.
"It's not good especially for the travelling public," Mr Seghers said.
I suppose shock will set in later in the day and he'll recover from that in the next few days.
- Barry Seghers, Taree Railway Station spokesperson.
"We should have better security available than a CCTV camera, especially late at night a lot of people travel on that 1.30am train."
Mr Seghers said a similar incident occurred at the station late last year where the main entrance door was smashed by intruders.
"Luckily no one was in the office, they waited until the employee had left.
"There was nothing in the till because it had been locked away.
"All they did then was a lot of damage," Mr Seghers said.
Chief inspector George said railway stations are not normally targets of aggressive crime.
"Railway stations traditionally across the State don't carry a lot of cash, most of their bookings are pre-paid.
"It's very rare for people to actually turn up at the railway station and pay cash for a ticket these days so I would say it's not normally an area that would be targeted.
"Taree Railway Station has very good CCTV and it's an area that continuously upgrades its security," Chief Inspector George said.
Passengers had access to the luggage room via a side door on Monday morning while a repair crew fixed the glass.
Anyone with information is urged to call Taree Police Station on 6552 0399 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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