HALIFAX, N.S. — The Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board Tuesday approved the abandonment of a 145-kilometre section of the Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railroad to metropolitan Cape Breton, the Halifax Daily News reported. .
The decision sealed the fate of rail service on the money-losing section of the line between St. Peter’s Junction, near Port Hawkesbury, and Sydney.
Cape Breton Central and Nova Scotia Railroad had applied to the board to abandon the line by October because traffic had slipped to about 900 carloads a year after the closings of coal and steel industries. The date has been extended to April 5, 2003.
“It is going to make attracting heavy manufacturing and processing to the (Cape Breton Regional Municipality) very difficult,” said Enterprise Cape Breton Corp. vice-president Rick Beaton.
Some companies may reconsider expansion plans, and it will be difficult for governments to entice investment to an area where a rail line is considered essential, he added.
About 15 companies employing between 350 and 400 people in Cape Breton County depend on raw material delivered by rail.
Karen MacPherson, a spokeswoman for Copol International Ltd., a manufacturer of plastic wrap in Northside Industrial Park, said developing Cape Breton without a railroad is almost impossible for manufacturers and spoke of a promised solution from Cape Breton North MLA Cecil Clarke.
“He told us the government has a plan of action, but he was not prepared to make it known until after the URB decision,” MacPherson said.
“It’s time for him to implement the plan,” MacPherson said, noting that it involves CN and the federal government.
She said the “plan” involves CN and the federal government.