Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway

Last updated
Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway
CBNS Rail Logo.png
Overview
Headquarters Stellarton, Nova Scotia
Reporting mark CBNS
Locale Nova Scotia, Canada
Dates of operation1993Present
Technical
Track gauge 4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

The Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway( reporting mark CBNS) is a short line railway that operates in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. CBNS operates (245 miles or 394 kilometres) of main line and associated spurs between Truro in the central part of the province to Point Tupper on Cape Breton Island.

Contents

The rail lines CBNS operates were previously owned by the Canadian National Railway. CBNS began operations in 1994 after the rail lines was purchased in October 1993 by the holding company RailTex. The purchase and operation of this route made CBNS one of the first short line railways to operate a route previously owned by a Canadian Class I railroad. On February 4, 2000, RailTex and all of its assets, including CBNS, were sold to the holding company RailAmerica. On December 12, 2012, RailAmerica and all of its assets, including CBNS, were sold to the holding company Genesee & Wyoming. [1]

Route

CB&CNSR freight train northbound on the Abercrombie spur, 12 Sep. 2003. CBCNSRtrain-20030912.jpg
CB&CNSR freight train northbound on the Abercrombie spur, 12 Sep. 2003.
CB&CNSR coal train westbound at Havre Boucher, 18 Sep. 2003. CBCNSRtrain-20030918.jpg
CB&CNSR coal train westbound at Havre Boucher, 18 Sep. 2003.
Truro interchange yard between CB&CNSR and CN, 2006. CBCNSRyard-20060328.jpg
Truro interchange yard between CB&CNSR and CN, 2006.

The CBNS main line crosses varied scenery in central and eastern Nova Scotia including mixed farmland, river valleys, forests, and the Pictou-Antigonish Highlands (considered geologically part of the Appalachian Mountains). The main line skirts various inlets of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and crosses the Strait of Canso to Cape Breton Island using the Canso Causeway. On Cape Breton Island the main line crosses the North Bras d'Or Uplands (North Mountain - also known as River Denys Mountain) before skirting the shores of Bras d'Or Lake along the Boisdale Hills to Sydney.

CBNS maintains the same two subdivisions over this line as did its previous owner Canadian National Railway (CN):

Interchanges

The line interchanges with the Sydney Coal Railway (SCR), formerly the Devco Railway, at Sydney, and with CN at Truro. Yards are maintained at Sydney, North Sydney, Point Tupper, Havre Boucher, Stellarton, and Truro.

The railroad's business was primarily transporting coal, metal products, paper products, chemicals, drywall products and limestone. CBNS transported approximately 22,000 car loads in 2008.

Future of the Sydney Subdivision

The section of the Sydney Subdivision from Port Hawkesbury to Sydney has undergone a significant decline in traffic since CN sold the entire route to RailTex in 1993.

The first decline occurred in 1997, when CN stopped routing Terra Transport container traffic bound for Newfoundland via the Marine Atlantic ferry service at North Sydney. From 1978 to 1997, Terra Transport containers were hauled by rail to the North Sydney railway yard where they would be transferred onto truck chassis and placed on board a ferry destined for Newfoundland. Until the abandonment of CN's rail services in Newfoundland in 1988, they would be transferred onto CN's narrow gauge trains at the ferry terminal in Newfoundland and delivered to destinations across that province. Following railway abandonment in 1988, the containers remained on the truck chassis for delivery by truck. A combination of changes to Marine Atlantic's ferry service, coupled with a desire by CN Rail to increase traffic at the Port of Halifax, saw these containers re-routed to Halifax where they were hauled to Newfoundland by the shipping company OceanEx.

The second decline occurred in late 2001 when a large steel mill and several coal mines were closed by Sydney Steel Corporation and Cape Breton Development Corporation respectively in the Sydney area. This change resulted in the loss of thousands of car loads per year and threatened the financial viability of the line. The railway retains several small industrial customers and wholesalers that create a combined 1,500 car loads per year east of Port Hawkesbury.

At the same time as this major loss in traffic occurred on the Sydney Subdivision, Via Rail Canada was experimenting with operating a once-weekly return trip seasonal tourist train from Halifax to Sydney called the Bras d'Or . The financial uncertainty of the Sydney Subdivision saw CBNS apply in 2004 to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (NSUARB) for permission to abandon the section east of St. Peters Junction (several miles east of Port Hawkesbury) in 2005. This resulted in Via's decision to permanently cancel the Bras d'Or at the end of the 2004 operating season.

The section of the line east of St. Peters Junction (near Port Hawkesbury) to Sydney has the highest maintenance requirements per mile on the entire railway as it includes the longest railway bridge in the province, the Grand Narrows Bridge, as well as two large trestles at Ottawa Brook. CBNS has stated that at least 10,000 car loads per year are required to generate enough revenue to maintain the Sydney Subdivision's tracks and bridges in operating condition. [2]

In September 2005, the Government of Nova Scotia announced that it had reached an agreement with the CBNS whereby the government would provide the railway with a $10 million subsidy to keep the rail line from Port Hawkesbury to Sydney open for the next five years, expiring in March 2010. In return, CBNS withdrew its application to the NSUARB for permission to abandon this section of its main line. A one-year extension of this subsidy was approved by the government in September 2010 that was retroactive to April 2010. [2] [3] On 3 October 2011, it was announced that the government had agreed to continue the subsidy for three more years, allowing RailAmerica access to $2 million over the timespan of the deal. [4]

Freight service for this section of the main line is currently provided by a small twice-weekly freight train that operates as a round trip between Sydney and Port Hawkesbury. Freight service west of Port Hawkesbury to the CN interchange at Truro is operated six times per week by larger freight trains.

In 2008, the holding company RailAmerica which was the corporate owner of CBNS at the time, encountered significant financial pressure from its corporate owner Fortress Investment Group. This saw CBNS dramatically increase the rates it charged to individuals and companies accessing railway property (e.g. driveways, storage, utility lines and pipes, etc.). The resulting backlash saw the provincial government under Premier Rodney MacDonald and his successor Darrell Dexter attempt to negotiate a means to regulate such rates.

In June 2014, the holding company Genesee & Wyoming Inc announced that it would not be seeking a renewal of the provincial government's maintenance subsidy granted since 2005 in exchange for keeping the Sydney Subdivision operating. The company has announced its intention to seek approval to abandon the line in fall 2014 from its regulator, the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board. [5]

As of 2019, the railway is still operated by Genesee & Wyoming, and the province continues to provide over $400,000 a year in subsidies to the company for its operations. This subsidy will be reviewed in 2020. [6]

Some municipal officials have criticized the standard of maintenance of the line in the Port Hawkesbury area. [7]

Genesee & Wyoming has ended 135 years of rail service to Sydney. The last 301 (westbound) left Sydney December 30, 2014. Under new provincial legislation the railway can't apply to abandon the line (remove the tracks) until six months after the Utility and Review Boards decision of the length of the discontinuance period on which the railway has to offer service to its customers. The boards decision was handed down January 15, 2015 and states that the railway must offer service (which can be trucks) until October 1, 2015. The earliest the railway can apply to abandon the line is April 1, 2016.

Accidents

The CBNS has experienced two significant derailments since taking over operation of the Truro - Sydney railway line from CN in 1993:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canso Causeway</span> Causeway connecting Cape Breton Island with mainland Nova Scotia

The Canso Causeway is a 1,385 m (4,544 ft) rock-fill causeway crossing the Strait of Canso, connecting Cape Breton Island by road to the Nova Scotia peninsula. Its crest thickness is 40 m (130 ft), carrying the two vehicle traffic lanes of the Trans-Canada Highway, Nova Scotia Highway 104 on the mainland side, and Nova Scotia Highway 105 on the Cape Breton side, as well as the single track mainline of the Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intercolonial Railway</span> Historic Canadian railway linking Central Canada to Maritime provinces

The Intercolonial Railway of Canada, also referred to as the Intercolonial Railway (ICR), was a historic Canadian railway that operated from 1872 to 1918, when it became part of Canadian National Railways. As the railway was also completely owned and controlled by the Government of Canada, the Intercolonial was also one of Canada's first Crown corporations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newfoundland Railway</span> Defunct narrow-gauge railway

The Newfoundland Railway was a narrow-gauge railway that operated on the island of Newfoundland from 1898 to 1988. With a total track length of 906 miles (1,458 km), it was the longest 3 ft 6 in narrow-gauge system in North America.

Terra Transport (TT) was the name for the Newfoundland Transportation Division, a wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian National Railway (CN), created in 1979 as a means to organize the company's operations on Newfoundland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dominion Atlantic Railway</span>

The Dominion Atlantic Railway was a historic railway which operated in the western part of Nova Scotia in Canada, primarily through an agricultural district known as the Annapolis Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windsor and Hantsport Railway</span>

The Windsor and Hantsport Railway was a 56-mile (90.1 km) railway line in Nova Scotia between Windsor Junction and New Minas with a spur at Windsor which runs several miles east, serving two gypsum quarries located at Wentworth Creek and Mantua. It suspended operations in 2011.

The Société des chemins de fer du Québec (SCFQ), or Quebec Railway Corporation in English, is a former Canadian railway holding company that owned several short line railways in the provinces of Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney and Louisburg Railway</span> Historic Canadian railway

The Sydney and Louisburg Railway (S&L) was a Canadian railway. Built to transport coal from various mines to the ports of Sydney and Louisbourg, the S&L operated in the eastern part of Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia. The railway uses a slightly different spelling for the town of "Louisbourg".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nova Scotia Railway</span> Historic Canadian railway

The Nova Scotia Railway is a historic Canadian railway. It was composed of two lines, one connecting Richmond with Windsor, the other connecting Richmond with Pictou Landing via Truro.

The Devco Railway was a Canadian railway. Devco Railway operated as an unincorporated department within the Coal Division of the Cape Breton Development Corporation, also known as DEVCO; as such there is no formally incorporated entity named "Devco Railway". Devco Railway took over the operations of the Sydney and Louisburg Railway on March 30, 1968 when DEVCO expropriated the S&L as part of the assets of the Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation, or DOSCO.

The Sydney Coal Railway is a Canadian short-line railway operating in the eastern part of Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goderich–Exeter Railway</span>

The Goderich–Exeter Railway is a short line freight railway that operates around 70 miles (110 km) of track in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Created in 1992, it was the first short line railway in Canada to be purchased from a class I railway, in this case Canadian National Railway (CN). It took over operation of further CN trackage in 1998. As of 2004, the railway had 44 employees. Its headquarters are in Stratford, Ontario, and owned by short-line railroad holding company Genesee & Wyoming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nova Scotia Trunk 4</span> Highway in Nova Scotia

Trunk 4 is part of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia's system of Trunk Highways. The route runs from Highway 104 exit 7 near Thomson Station to Glace Bay. Until the construction of the Trans-Canada Highway, Trunk 4 was a major traffic link in northern Nova Scotia and Cape Breton, and is still used on Cape Breton as an alternative to Highway 105. The highway was originally called the King's Highway, however, this name is no longer applied to the entire road. The only remaining historic section of the highway that maintains the name "King" is King's Road in Sydney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation</span>

The Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation was a Canadian coal mining and steel manufacturing company.

The Cumberland Railway and Coal Company is a defunct Canadian industrial company with interests in coal mines in Springhill, Nova Scotia, and a railway that operated from Springhill Junction to Parrsboro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Truro station (Nova Scotia)</span> Railway station in Nova Scotia, Canada

Truro station is an intercity railway station in Truro, Nova Scotia. It is operated by Via Rail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canso Canal Bridge</span> Bridge in Canada

The Canso Canal Bridge is a rotating swing bridge in Nova Scotia, Canada. It crosses the Canso Canal at the eastern end of the Canso Causeway, connecting the Nova Scotia peninsula to Cape Breton Island. The bridge carries the 2 traffic lanes of Highway 104 as well as a single track railway line operated by the Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway (CBNS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Narrows Bridge</span> Canadian railway bridge

The Grand Narrows Bridge is a Canadian railway bridge crossing between Victoria County, Nova Scotia, and Cape Breton County. At 516.33 m (1,694 ft), it is the longest railroad bridge in the province. The bridge incorporates a swing span at its eastern end to permit the continued passage of marine traffic through the strait.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Municipality of the County of Inverness</span> County municipality in Nova Scotia, Canada

The Municipality of the County of Inverness is a county municipality on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. It provides local government to about 17,000 residents of the historical county of the same name, except for the incorporated town of Port Hawkesbury and the Whycocomagh 2 Miꞌkmaq reserve, both of which are enclaves. Public services are provided in the areas of recreation, tourism, administration, finance, and public works.

The Halifax-Sydney train was a passenger train service operated by the Canadian National Railway and later Via Rail between Halifax and Sydney, Nova Scotia, via Truro and Port Hawkesbury.

References

  1. Surface Transportation Board, Decision, Case No. 42772 Archived 2013-04-29 at the Wayback Machine , December 19, 2012
  2. 1 2 "Nova Scotia re-ups subsidy for RailAmerica short line". Trains Magazine. 28 October 2010. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  3. "Nova Scotia legislators vow to help short line". Trains Magazine. 29 March 2010. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
  4. "Nova Scotia agrees to continuing subsidy for RailAmerica line". Trains Magazine. 3 October 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
  5. "Cape Breton rail line to likely shut down in fall". Cbc.ca. 2014-06-11. Retrieved 2014-08-04.
  6. Shannon, Chris (May 14, 2019). "'Significant' progress on port development needed this year to maintain Cape Breton rail subsidy: MacLellan". Cape Breton Post. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  7. Beswick, Aaron (August 1, 2014). "Going off the rails in Nova Scotia". The Chronicle Herald. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
  8. "Transportation Safety Board of Canada - Report Number R04M0032". Tsb.gc.ca. Retrieved 2014-08-04.
  9. CBC News, June 14, 2010 - Derailment cleanup keeps families from homes Archived June 17, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  10. Published on June 16, 2010 (2010-06-16). "New Glasgow Evening News, June 16, 2010 - Stellarton derailment causes traffic block". Ngnews.ca. Retrieved 2014-08-04.
  11. "Track defects could force closure of Cape Breton & Central Nova Scotia". Trains Magazine. 17 September 2010. Retrieved 21 September 2010.

45°39′2.98″N61°26′40.1″W / 45.6508278°N 61.444472°W / 45.6508278; -61.444472