Cape Breton & Central Nova Scotia Railway

A couple of recent shots at Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia. The CB&CNS between Truro (interchange with CN) and Port Hawkesbury, about 110 miles still sees regular service. The 90 miles beyond Port Hawkesbury to Sydney is out of service and hasn’t seen a train for about 5 years The NS Government is paying the railway a subsidy to keep the track in place as a new container terminal may be developed at the Port of Sydney.

Are there any recent updates regarding the fate of this line? The expense of maintaining it as embargoed-but-"active" is considerable, but I would hate to see it abandoned without a great deal of forethought and foresight. It still bears potential as a key transportation link, and once it's gone, it's gone.

What is the latest news, if any, on the Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia? I know the railway has been sold, and that the provincial operating subsidy was set to expire in March, but I haven't heard or read anything lately.

CBC.ca: Cape Bretoners call for repairs to crumbling rail line

Some Cape Bretoners are calling for immediate repairs to the crumbling rail line that runs across the island, regardless of whether a proposed container terminal gets built in Sydney harbour.
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Blue Morrison, whose father worked on the railway, said she has seen missing and worn ties, varied spacing between the rails, the railbed eroded by rain or floodwater and saltwater deterioration of the railbed along the Bras d'Or Lake.

She would like to see trains bringing cruise ship passengers from Sydney to the Highland Village Museum in Iona, N.S., and farther down the line to the Orangedale station.
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Steve Smith, a Coxheath, N.S., resident who lives on Bungalow Road near the Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway tracks, recently shot some drone footage of a huge washout near his home and another farther west toward Point Edward.
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Charlie MacLean, co-chair of the Scotia Rail Development Society, agreed. The society was formed in 2015, just as the rail owner, Genesee & Wyoming, stopped running trains across Cape Breton and signalled its intention to abandon the line altogether due to a lack of demand.

"We want to see trains running again and we would like to see the track and the track bed owned by the province and not by a owned-from-away company that can do with it as they wish upon their whim or other financial concerns," MacLean said.
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In 2014, Genesee & Wyoming said rail traffic had fallen far below the amount needed to make the line economical and an annual subsidy of $2 million was not enough to keep it going.

The last train ran across Cape Breton heading for the mainland in October 2015.
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What a shame. I was last in Cape Breton in 1997 when it was still an active freight and passenger line.

What businesses are there that could generate sufficient revenue to get it up and running again?

At this point, a container port maybe?
The loss of the Sydney Works killed the vast majority of their business.

What's the advantage of Sydney over Halifax? Will cost a lot to rehab the line east of Port Hawkesbury, including repairing a major bridge.

I am not sure myself, but part of CN's motive towards buying an interest in CBNS last fall was to open up more land for a possible second port in NS. There have been a few sites around Sydney and Ports Hawkesbury which have been speculated about on Facebook and in news articles, but nothing firm yet.

Subsidy ended: Trains

Nova Scotia government ends subsidy for dormant portion of short line

CAPE BRETON, Nova Scotia — The government of Nova Scotia has ended a subsidy for a dormant section of short line in the province because it sees no chance the line will be restored to operation any time soon, the CBC reports.

The move regarding the Cape Breton & Central Nova Scotia Railway comes after Canadian National bought a stake in the Genesee & Wyoming line last year [see
“CN acquires stake …,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 2, 2023]. Provincial Economic Development Minister Susan Corkum-Green said it could cost up to $500 million to repair the inactive portion of the line, and that when she spoke with CN officials, they indicated they were looking to invest elsewhere.
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CPF66 wrote:I am not sure myself, but part of CN's motive towards buying an interest in CBNS last fall was to open up more land for a possible second port in NS. There have been a few sites around Sydney and Ports Hawkesbury which have been speculated about on Facebook and in news articles, but nothing firm yet.

Was opening a 2nd port a part of the plan? CN has an interest in the railroad as long as it generates enough carloads as they are their only class 1 interchange.

Yes, CN has been looking to open another Atlantic port for a few years. A few locations on CBNS have been tossed around as have some in the Maramishi-Campbellton area in NB.

CPF66 wrote: ↑Fri Apr 12, 2024 9:47 am Yes, CN has been looking to open another Atlantic port for a few years. A few locations on CBNS have been tossed around as have some in the Maramishi-Campbellton area in NB.

Overall the most optimal location for a second port would appear to be Port Hawkesbury. It’s not too far inland from the ocean, doesn’t require ships to traverse narrower bodies of water, and doesn’t require rebuilding the line east of St. Peter’s Jct. (which is also heavily curved).

I’m still holding out for Sydney to be the winning candidate though as it once was an industrial hub until the 1990s (?) when everything started to gradually be shuddered so repurposing it as a proper port city would seem like a no brainer. But I doubt that could work unless the trackage and certain bridges were to be overhauled or completely rebuilt with speeds competitive with trucks. The main roads on Cape Breton Island have grades and curves for sure due to the topography, but the amount of straight stretches and speed limits are fairly generous.

I'm not buying it CN is looking to open a 2nd port on Cape Breton instead of expanding Halifax. Smells of wishful thinking to me