A new $39 million railway station that will replace the existing Dunmore station is on track to open at the end of the year, but a decision on its name seems as distant as ever.
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For many years the proposed station was earmarked as Flinders.
However, in February 2013, Kiama MP Gareth Ward announced that it would be known as Shell Cove, after "a strong community campaign" and "evidence that the name change would help support tourism".
The move was opposed by Shellharbour City Council and Shellharbour MP Anna Watson, who argued the new station's name should remain Flinders.
More than a year later, a question mark remains over both names.
The official name of the existing station, Dunmore (Shellharbour), is unlikely to be used because of the Geographical Names Board's preference for new stations to have single place names only.
The board said it had received a proposal from Transport for NSW to name the new railway station Shell Cove.
"Transport for NSW were informed at the time that the proposed name was unlikely to be approved as the new name did not meet the board's guidelines - the station would not be located in the suburb of Shell Cove," a Geographical Names Board spokeswoman said.
"The board has invited Transport for NSW to lodge a revised proposal."
A spokesman for Transport for NSW said it was "considering the advice received from the Geographical Names Board secretariat".
The name Flinders is in doubt because the new station remains within the boundaries of the Dunmore locality.
Ms Watson said Mr Ward had been left "red-faced" over the issue.
Mr Ward said there were obvious economic benefits to linking the new station with the development of Shell Cove.
"I'm not really interested in what it is called, I just want to deliver a station that Labor failed to do," he said.
Ms Watson called on the NSW government to publicly release a revised naming proposal for the new station.
"I challenge the government to publicly release the proposal for the name of the station so genuine consultation can take place in the Shellharbour City community," she said.