Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway
Encyclopedia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
between Sydney
Sydney, Nova Scotia
Sydney is a Canadian urban community in the province of Nova Scotia. It is situated on the east coast of Cape Breton Island and is administratively part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality....
and Truro
Truro, Nova Scotia
-Education:Truro has one high school, Cobequid Educational Centre. Post-secondary options include a campus of the Nova Scotia Community College, as well as the Nova Scotia Agricultural College in the neighboring town of Bible Hill.- Sports :...
with spurs at Sydney, Point Tupper
Point Tupper, Nova Scotia
Point Tupper is a small rural community located in Richmond County, Nova Scotia on the Strait of Canso in western Cape Breton Island.-History:...
, Trenton
Trenton, Nova Scotia
Trenton is a town located in Pictou County, Nova Scotia.Trenton is situated on the east bank of the East River of Pictou, adjacent to and immediately north of the larger town of New Glasgow.- Economy :...
and Stellarton
Stellarton, Nova Scotia
-External links:*...
.
The mainline (and related spurs) were formerly owned by Canadian National Railway
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
and were sold to the short line railroad holding company RailTex
RailTex
RailTex was a transportation holding company that specialized in owning and operating short line railroads across North America.Based in San Antonio, Texas, the public company was a leader in making unprofitable lines shed by Class I railroads into viable transportation routes.The company was sold...
in October 1993, making CBNS one of Canada's first shortlines to be acquired from a class I railway
Class I railroad
A Class I railroad in the United States and Mexico, or a Class I rail carrier in Canada, is a large freight railroad company, as classified based on operating revenue.Smaller railroads are classified as Class II and Class III...
. On 4 February 2000, RailTex, including CBNS, was purchased by RailAmerica
RailAmerica
RailAmerica, Inc., based in Jacksonville, Florida, is a holding company of a number of short-line railroads and regional railroads in the United States and Canada....
for US$325,000,000.
Route
The CBNS route crosses varied and beautiful scenery ranging from mixed farmland, forests and river valleys formed by the Appalachian MountainsAppalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
, to the Strait of Canso
Strait of Canso
The Strait of Canso , is a strait located in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It divides the Nova Scotia peninsula from Cape Breton Island....
(it crosses on the Canso Causeway
Canso Causeway
The Canso Causeway is a rock-fill causeway in Nova Scotia, Canada.The causeway crosses the Strait of Canso, connecting Cape Breton Island by road to the Nova Scotia peninsula...
) and various inlets of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. On Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....
, the line runs beside the spectacular Bras d'Or Lake
Bras d'Or Lake
Bras d'Or Lake is a large body of salt water dominating the centre of Cape Breton Island in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. Bras d'Or Lake is sometimes referred to as the Bras d'Or Lakes or the Bras d'Or Lakes system, however its official geographic name is Bras d'Or Lake as it is a singular...
.
CBNS maintains the same two subdivisions over this line as did its previous owner CN:
- Hopewell Subdivision (116.2 miles or 187 km) running from Truro, Nova Scotia in the west to Havre BoucherHavre Boucher, Nova ScotiaHavre Boucher is a Canadian village in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia.The village takes its name from "Havre Boucher", a natural harbour that opens onto St. George's Bay to the north...
, Nova Scotia in the east. Spurs at Stellarton, Nova Scotia to AbercrombieAbercrombie, Nova ScotiaAbercrombie is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in Pictou County.-References:*...
, Nova Scotia (10 miles or 16.1 km) and New GlasgowNew Glasgow, Nova ScotiaNew Glasgow is a town in Pictou County, in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It is situated on the banks of the East River of Pictou, which flows into Pictou Harbour, a sub-basin of the Northumberland Strait....
, Nova Scotia to Trenton, Nova Scotia (3 miles or 4.8 km).
- Sydney Subdivision (113.9 miles or 183.3 km) running from Havre Boucher, Nova Scotia in the west to Sydney, Nova Scotia in the east. Spurs at Point Tupper, Nova Scotia (1.2 miles or 1.9 km) and Jefferson, Nova Scotia to EdwardsvilleEdwardsville, Nova ScotiaEdwardsville is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality on Cape Breton County on Cape Breton County.-References:*...
, Nova Scotia (2.7 miles or 4.3 km).
Interchanges
The line interchanges with the Sydney Coal RailwaySydney Coal Railway
The Sydney Coal Railway is a Canadian short-line railway operating in the eastern part of Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia.SCR operates from the international coaling piers on Sydney Harbour in Sydney to the Lingan Generating Station, a coal-fired electrical generating station near New Waterford...
(SCR), formerly the Devco Railway
Devco Railway
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"...
, at Sydney, and with CN at Truro. Yards are maintained at Sydney, North Sydney
North Sydney, Nova Scotia
North Sydney is a community in Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Regional Municipality.Located on the north side of Sydney Harbour, along the eastern coast of Cape Breton Island, North Sydney is an important port in Atlantic Canada as it is the western terminus of the Marine Atlantic ferry service...
, Point Tupper, Havre Boucher, Stellarton, and Truro.
The railroad's traffic comes mainly from coal, metal products, paper products, chemicals, and limestone. The CBNS hauled around 22,000 car loads in 2008.
Future of the Sydney Subdivision
The eastern section of the railway's main line from Port HawkesburyPort Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia
-Historical residents:*Henry Nicholas Paint , member of Parliament for Richmond county, merchant and land owner. His family received land grants at Belle Vue on the Strait of Canso in 1817 and at Point Tupper in 1863, and did much to develop the local communities in the area.*Arthur John Langley ...
to Sydney, the Sydney Subdivision, 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
Terra Transport
Terra Transport was the name for the Newfoundland Transportation Division, a wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian National Railway , created in 1979 as a means to organize the company's operations on the island of Newfoundland.-Background:...
container traffic bound for Newfoundland via the Marine Atlantic
Marine Atlantic
Marine Atlantic Inc. is an independent Canadian Crown corporation offering ferry services between the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia.Marine Atlantic's corporate headquarters are in St...
ferry service at North Sydney. From 1978-1997, Terra Transport containers were hauled by rail to the North Sydney railway yard where they would be transferred onto truck chassis and placed onboard 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
Steel mill
A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel.Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. It is produced in a two-stage process. First, iron ore is reduced or smelted with coke and limestone in a blast furnace, producing molten iron which is either cast into pig iron or...
and several coal mines were closed by Sydney Steel Corporation
Sydney Steel Corporation
Sydney Steel Corporation was a Crown corporation in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.-Steel comes to Sydney:An integrated steel mill was established on the southeast side of Sydney Harbour in the Whitney Pier neighbourhood of Sydney, Nova Scotia in 1901 by American investors...
and Cape Breton Development Corporation
Cape Breton Development Corporation
The Cape Breton Development Corporation, or DEVCO, was a Canadian federal government Crown corporation. It ceased operation on December 31, 2009, after being amalgamated with Enterprise Cape Breton 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 tourist train from Halifax to Sydney called the Bras d'Or. The financial uncertainty of the Sydney Subdvision saw CBNS apply in 2004 to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board
Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board
The Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board or NSUARB is the independent tribunal and regulating arm of the Government of Nova Scotia.NSUARB was established in 1992 following the amalgamation of the former Board of Commissioners of Public Utilities, the Nova Scotia Municipal Board, the Expropriations...
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 2004 operating season.
The section of the line east of St. Peters Junction (near Point Tupper, Nova Scotia) to Sydney has the highest maintenance requirements per mile on the entire railway as it includes the longest railway bridge in the province, the Barra Strait Railway Bridge, as well as two large trestles. CBNS has revealed that at least 10,000 car loads per year are required to generate enough revenue to maintain the Sydney Subdivision.
In September 2005, the Government of Nova Scotia
Government of Nova Scotia
The Government of Nova Scotia refers to the provincial government of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Its powers and structure are set out in the Constitution Act, 1867....
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. 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.
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.
In 2008, the holding company RailAmerica which is the corporate owner of CBNS encountered significant financial pressure from its corporate owner Fortress Investments. This saw CBNS dramatically increase the rates it charged to individuals and companies accessing railway property (e.g. driveways, storage, etc.). The resulting backlash saw the provincial government under Premier Rodney MacDonald
Rodney MacDonald
Rodney Joseph MacDonald is a Canadian politician, educator and musician who served as the 26th Premier of Nova Scotia from 2006 to 2009 and as MLA for the riding of Inverness in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1999 to 2009....
and his successor Darrell Dexter
Darrell Dexter
Darrell Dexter is a Canadian lawyer, journalist and former naval officer who is serving as the 27th and current Premier of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. A member of the New Democratic Party, he has led the Nova Scotia NDP since 2001. He was elected Premier in 2009 after defeating...
attempt to negotiate a means to regulate such rates.
Accidents
The CBNS has experienced two major derailments since taking over operation of the Truro - Sydney railway line from CN in 1993:- On April 18, 2004, westbound freight train 301-18 derailed ten cars at mile 51.7 of the Hopewell Subdivision near Linacy, Nova Scotia at approximately 23h35 ADT. Nine of the ten derailed cars were loaded with liquified petroleum gasLiquified petroleum gasLiquefied petroleum gas is a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases used as a fuel in heating appliances and vehicles. It is increasingly used as an aerosol propellant and a refrigerant, replacing chlorofluorocarbons in an effort to reduce damage to the ozone layer...
(propane). No individuals were injured, however, two schools and two residences were forced to evacuate for nine days while cleanup operations took place. The Transportation Safety Board of CanadaTransportation Safety Board of CanadaThe Transportation Safety Board of Canada , officially the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board is the agency of the Government of Canada responsible for maintaining...
investigated and determined that the train had been operated safely and that no mechanical defects existed in the locomotives or consist. The investigation determined that the derailment occurred as a result of a track issue; the slower freight train had been operating along a curve that was super-elevatedCant (road/rail)The cant of a railway track or a road is the difference in elevation between the two edges...
. This type of track configuration dated to the high speed requirements of the Via Rail Canada "DaylinerBudd Rail Diesel CarThe Budd Rail Diesel Car, RDC or Buddliner is a self-propelled diesel multiple unit railcar. In the period 1949–62, 398 RDCs were built by the Budd Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States...
" passenger trains which were canceled on January 15, 1990. The heavy weight of the slower freight train forced the lower track on the inside of the curve to collapse.
- On June 13, 2010, a westbound freight train derailed sixteen cars on the Hopewell Subdivision in Avondale Station, Nova Scotia. Six of the sixteen derailed cars were loaded with liquified petroleum gas (propane). No individuals were injured, however, several residences were forced to evacuate for multiple days while cleanup operations took place. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is currently investigating. A CBNS official was quoted in local media as stating that a preliminary finding had determined that a defect in a non-CBNS freight car was thought to have caused the derailment. A subsequent minor derailment in Stellarton, Nova Scotia the following week where two freight cars left the tracks during a yard switching operation created a minor media sensation.
The June 2010 derailment on the Hopewell Subdivision (western section of the railway) coincided with a controversial debate throughout the summer of 2010 on whether the provincial government would extend the five-year subsidy agreement that was tied to maintaining the Sydney Subdivision (eastern section of the railway) where traffic had declined below sustainable levels. A site visit to view track conditions on the Hopewell Subdivision in Pictou County by Nova Scotia's Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal Bill Estabrooks
Bill Estabrooks
Bill Estabrooks is a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia and currently Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal. He represents the riding of Timberlea-Prospect for the NDP....
in September 2010 revealed several track defects. Mr. Estabrooks stated that such track defects could cause the railroad to lose its operating license from the provincial government, however, CBNS owner RailAmerica downplayed the issue by explaining that such defects on the Hopewell Subdivision were minor and the railroad was safe.
