HALIFAX — The Hamm government is considering buying the rail line from Point Tupper to Sydney in order to flip it to a private operator, the Halifax Daily News reports.
Economic Development Minister Cecil Clarke told the legislature yesterday the province has the option to buy the Cape Breton & Central Nova Scotia Railroad for its net salvage value — the amount Rail America can hope to get if it scraps the line.
But he said the government remains committed to being fiscally responsible.
“This government won’t be operating a railroad, nor will we be subsidizing the operation,” Clarke said.
The Utility and Review Board ruled last week that Rail America can abandon the unprofitable stretch of the Truro to Sydney shortline it bought from Canadian National Railways in 1993 for $20 million.
Liberal Leader Danny Graham said CN promised to take the line back if it was abandoned, and the Tories should force it to keep that obligation.
Cape Breton Centre NDP MLA Frank Corbette said a chance to save the railway came three years ago, when the Hamm government had a chance to invest in a spur that would have made it more profitable. Now Clarke is holding out false hope the line can survive, Corbett said.
“The goose may already be cooked,” he said.