Category: Campaigns

Scotia Rail Development Society continues efforts to save Cape Breton rail line

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The Scotia Rail Development Society (SRDS) was set up last year in response to plans from the Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway to shut down and abandon its rail line from St. Peter’s Jct. to Sydney on Cape Breton. The SRDS has been actively campaigning to prevent the removal of the line, holding public meetings, gathering signatures on a petition, and looking for solutions to help keep the line in place.

Transport Action Atlantic continues to support the efforts of the SRDS to preserve the Cape Breton rail line, and supports many of the same principles regarding the role that rail should play in the transportation network of the province.

The SRDS, in association with the Sustainable Transportation Action Team (STAT) of the Ecology Action Centre in Halifax, has issued the following position statement regarding the railway and their ongoing efforts:

 

 

Scotia Rail Development Society logo

Cape Breton’s Contribution to Paris Agreement on Climate Change

The Scotia Rail Development Society (SRDS) is calling for Nova Scotians to encourage their MP to support the railway on Cape Breton Island. SRDS, aligned with the Sustainable Transportation Action Team (STAT) with the Ecology Action Centre, is advocating to keep the railway.

Railways are a driving force in the economy offering the cheapest and cleanest form of ground transportation. For almost twenty years railway companies have been allowed to regulate themselves and abandon lines with almost no government intervention or concern for the communities they serve. There is blame on the railway companies as well, being profit driven, forcing traffic to trucks because it is cheaper for them to truck it on tax-payer funded highways than to run a train on lower traffic lines that they, the owner, have to maintain. Is this really better for the communities, economy and the environment? How about protecting Nova Scotia taxpayers’ investments in our highways, by diverting more truck traffic to the railways? The rail could help trucking companies that face driver shortages and in the long run, unstable fuel prices. Trailers or containers on flatcars also enable trucking firms to offer their drivers shorter runs so that they can be at home with their families instead of sleeping in their overnight cabs.  Continue reading “Scotia Rail Development Society continues efforts to save Cape Breton rail line” →

A glimmer of hope for Cape Breton rail?

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An orange and yellow train with bright headlights heads directly towards the viewer under cloudy fall skies.
Could the CBNS run to Sydney once again? (Photo by Tim Hayman)

Just as the date approaches that the Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia (CBNS) Railway can apply to abandon the Sydney Subdivision, there’s a little glimmer of hope that the line might not be quite dead yet. On November 19th, Harbor Port Development Partners (HPDP) and the Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM) issued a press release announcing that they are in discussions with CBNS to provide rail service for any future port developments in Sydney.

The HPDP was established to develop and market a deep water container port in Sydney, along with an adjacent logistics park. HPDP was also charged by CBRM with assembling a consortium of marine and financial service partners to realize this project. For such a project to be a success, securing suitable transportation options is an important step: hence the decision to reach out to the CBNS. There’s no doubt that a rail link would be extremely valuable for this sort of project.

Continue reading “A glimmer of hope for Cape Breton rail?” →

Transit plan progresses in SW New Brunswick

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St. Andrew’s Mayor Stan Choptiany finally sees light at the end of the tunnel, and is confident that there will be public transportation linking communities in Charlotte County with Saint John by late this fall.

“It’s happening,” he commented, following the July 22 inaugural meeting of the newly constituted not-for profit Southwest New Brunswick Transportation Authority Inc.  It’s the result of two years of deliberations by the members of the Charlotte-York Transportation Committee, which initially met to find solutions to the lack of adequate public transit in this region of rural New Brunswick – especially to the regional centre, Saint John. The authority’s first act was to hire a project development co-ordinator on full-time contract. The successful applicant was Sue Farquharson of Due South Strategies.

The co-ordinator’s first task is to establish the by-laws, policies, and financial procedures of the newly incorporated authority in order to facilitate the establishment of a board of directors. Initially the proposed board will include the membership of seven municipal representatives, (mayors or their appointees), within the service area of the authority, as well as representatives of unincorporated areas, non-governmental organizations, and representatives of the existing dial-a-ride services in the region. Continue reading “Transit plan progresses in SW New Brunswick” →