The decision on the Sombor – Subotica – Szeged railway construction, made in 1864 at a conference in Subotica, was followed by the Committee for the railway construction establishment in Sombor. Five years later, on September 11, the first train entered the newly built station. Along with numerous citizens and the entire city leadership, the Hungarian Secretary of State attended the ceremonial entry of the first train into Sombor. By 1870 the railway was extended from Sombor to Sonta and Bogojevo. In the following years, two newly built railway lines connected Sombor with Novi Sad and Baja in 1895, Bečej in 1906, and Apatin in 1912, respectively. These lines were local vicinal. Sombor has become a significant railway hub, which has given it a new impetus for economic progress and faster trade development.
The central railway station planned simultaneously with the railway line was built far from the urban core, on the northern periphery. The station building was a typical building of the first type. The station building was one-story, with two side ground wings and a central part crowned with a tympanum. The openings ended in a segmental arch were rounded by decoration made of brick. It was designed according to the architectural and construction standards of the time, in everything similar to the station buildings in other major centers of the Habsburg Monarchy.
The railway connected all the surrounding villages and numerous farm settlements with the city. The railway infrastructure was supplemented by two bridges over the Grand Bačka Canal, on the railway towards Bogojevo. Sombor remained a significant railway center in the interwar period. On the first day of the Second World War, during the German attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the railway station was significantly damaged by bombing.
The building was renovated during the war. The central part of the building has undergone sizable changes regarding its shape and style since a stepped gable replaced the tympanum. In front of the former main entrance is a closed porch surmounted by a terrace with a wrought iron fence. Other parts and elements of the building remained unchanged. The addition introduced modernist elements that deviated from the aesthetics of the original building.
For almost a century, the Sombor railway station has been a focal point, a window to the world. However, in the sixties of the 20th century, when the railway traffic fell into the shadow of the road, the railway lines were gradually closed, and the station building became neglected.
