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Nova Scotia railway to abandon line
I wonder if this will force the province to buy the line and have the shortline up in Sydney run it.
The Cape Breton economy has been bad for years. This will just kill any new possiblity of development. They are several high quality gypsum prospects along the line that without a railway will near become mines.
This is unfortunate. Only a few years ago this line was busy with both freight and passenger traffic. Several popular passenger trains per day used to travel between Truro and Sydney, and there was plenty of freight to and from Sydney and via ferry to Newfoundland as well. It’s difficult to see how things might improve, but as Mr. Warner says, any big industrial development on Cape Breton is unlikely without a railway to connect it to the rest of the North American network.
Such a shame to see a railroad going like that
Still another 'Trains" article where a map would have been nice. I’m sure one of the other rail sites will have it as they always do.
I agree; a map is invaluable when articles like this are published. And it is none the less sad to hear of another section of railroad going, potentially, to disuse. I hope it can somehow be kept active.
What finished off this line was the closure of what was left of the steel mill in Sydney in 1999. I’m surprised the line lasted this long.
Sad to hear of any railway closing down. The video production, “Six Motor Alcos” features the film “Alcos In The Highlands” which was filmed on the CB&CNS. Some amazing scenery on this line. The big Alcos were named for (mostly) poets and writers of Scottish origin. At Sydney trains were not ‘switched’ but ‘shunted’, using the Scottish terminology for the operation. The bridge at Grand Narrows is very impressive.
The loss of this line will mean the end of both dreams and plans for a container terminal for/at the Port of Sydney.
I rode this scenic line back in 1989, enjoyed every mile. Very sorry to learn of this move.
Noel Weaver
Preservation of railway infrastructure that is presently either underutilized or idle – at minimum, the right-of-way component, for which reinstatement has become very difficult if not impossible, depending upon location – is, arguably, worthy of investment of public sector funds to enable capture of future possible economic development opportunities for which rail freight service is a significant or absolutely essential advantage. This is not to deny that public sector resources have limits. However, rail infrastructure is a form of socially beneficial overhead capital, as are road and airport facilities for which user charges cover less than the full cost of their construction and maintenance.
Examples exist of rail lines saved from abandonment that subsequently have experienced “recovered viability” as judged by both public and private economic benefit criteria.
The abandonment notice was published in Nova Scotia newspapers last week. This line segment that supported seasonal passenger service just a decade ago has deteriorated to a pitiful 10 mph freight-only operation with just a handful of cars in each direction per trip. CN intermodal containers go via the very good parallel highway that the public has already paid to construct and continues to pay to maintain, and which is by no means capacity-constrained. They are seen daily on that roadway. The smartest thing the Province could do is let the existing rail service cease as GWI intends and focus instead on “railbanking” the right-of-way for possible future use if circumstances change in the future. The condition of the track is poor such that it would have to be reconstructed anyway.
Maybe TRAINS could hire someone to teach them how to include a map.
Truly sad news, for me. I traveled the line, as a kid, every summer to visit my ancestral farm near Sydney. It was a beautiful trip. If blame is to be meted out, it falls on the Liberal/Socialist voters of Nova Scotia. How they embrace a 15% sales tax (and a C$1.109/US gallon gasoline tax) I can’t fathom. Reopening of some Cape Breton coal mines near Sydney might save the line, unless taxed-to-death. ‘Ciad mille failte’ to a Conservative government.