Waitara Road railway station

In the post-war years, general traffic at Waitara Road station declined as motor vehicles became more affordable. The first to go was passenger services, which were replaced with Road Services buses in 1946.^[8] Next to go was the goods shed, which was removed in late 1957 as general consignment freight reduced.

While general traffic was falling, industrial traffic continued to keep the station running. Increasing traffic from the dairy factory (now called the Clifton Co-Operative Dairy Company, having taken over several smaller companies in the area) led to new loading warehouses being built on the former goods yard in the 1960s and a progressive expansion in the factory size.

In the late 1970s a new siding was laid to serve the plant nursery Duncan & Davies, which had relocated directly south of the station & shipped plants both nationally and internationally.

By the 1980s traffic began to drop. The dairy factory (which in 1980 became the Brixton complex for Moa-Nui Co-operative Dairies) closed in the early 1990s after over a century at the site, and Duncan & Davies stopped sending by rail before eventually going out of business completely.

The station remained technically open until 2 February 1999 when Tranz Rail closed the entire line.

The station still exists as the Waitara Railway Preservation Society purchased the line in 2001 and established its main base at Waitara Road.

Since then passenger facilities have been reinstated (including 2 former NZR station buildings from Tahora and Waitōtara) and new sidings have been laid (including lifting and reusing the track from the Duncan and Davies siding). Passenger services stop at the station during running days.

The neighbouring dairy factory complex still exists but is now used as a truck depot.