Save Our Rail lodged a submission with the Court of Appeal on Monday to dispute a ­decision handed down last month that meant it would have to pay about $800,000 in legal fees accrued by the state government during the court battle over the rail line.

But Save Our Rail believes the government will try to make the group pay as a warning to other community organisations tempted to challenge the government in future.

Last month, the court ruled that Save Our Rail should shoulder the legal costs incurred by government agency Hunter Development Corporation.

It came after the High Court delivered a favourable ruling for Save Our Rail last December, which led to a 10-month delay to the government’s plan to remove the heavy rail line.

The ensuing legal battle revolved around whether the government needed an Act of Parliament to legally remove rail ­infrastructure.

But Save Our Rail vice-­president Kim Cross said the court should not have delivered a judgement on the ­government’s appeal last month because the necessary Act of Parliament was passed in October.

“There was no longer any justifiable controversy for the court to determine,” she said.

“The court should have set aside the judgement.”

Ms Cross said Save Our Rail’s legal advice was that the court would not make the group pay the government’s legal costs.

But she said if it was spared the financial blow, she believed the government would challenge the decision in the High Court.

“It tells us that they really want the judgement to stand,” she said.

“I don’t think it’s really about the money.

“It’s about sending a message to other ­community groups not to challenge the ­government.”

The government’s legal representatives have until December 4 to lodge their response to the court and a hearing will be held on December 14.

Save Our Rail has strong support in Maitland, where many commuters have expressed concern about the removal of the train line into the city.