NDP say they'd consider buying crumbling Cape Breton rail line

Nova Scotia's New Democratic Party says if it forms the next government, it will consider buying and rebuilding the crumbling rail line that runs across Cape Breton, but the other major parties are not making the same commitment.

The Cape Breton Central Nova Scotia Railway line between Port Hawkesbury and Sydney was discontinued in 2015, when the last train crossed the island.

The line's owner, Genesee & Wyoming, said there wasn't enough demand for rail cars to make the line financially viable.

NDP Leader Gary Burrill said since that time, companies have started to rethink their transportation needs.

"The option of re-establishing train transport in Cape Breton has a salience and an importance now — as we think about the world's mission to contain global heating within 1.5 degrees — that it didn't necessarily have, say, seven or eight years ago," he said.

A 2017 study by the Port of Sydney Development Corp. suggested the line would need at least $100 million in repairs to make it serviceable again. Since that time, the railbed, tracks and bridges have continued to deteriorate.

Burrill said the NDP has not determined what it could cost to buy the line and restore it, but he said it is worth thinking about.

"If there is no private sector interest in the development of Cape Breton rail, then we are willing to consider what would be required from the government of Nova Scotia in order to get Cape Breton back into the railroad business," he said.

The line could be used by manufacturers and companies currently shipping on and off Cape Breton Island by truck, and it could also be used for passenger trains, Burrill said.

The NDP's Kendra Coombes, who is running for re-election in Cape Breton Centre-Whitney Pier, said she doesn't know if there is a business case for turning the private rail line into public infrastructure, but she said it's time to find out.

"There seems to be a groundswell from quite a few communities and community leaders and organizations that do seem to want to have rail as an option for shipping," she said.

The government subsidized the rail line for years and has paid the railway company millions of dollars to keep the line from being abandoned since it was discontinued.

Coombes said that is another reason to consider buying the line.

"I'd rather see us using taxpayer money for a Nova Scotia entity, rather than giving taxpayer money to a private corporation," she said.

For years, the Cape Breton Regional Municipality has been trying to attract a container terminal to Sydney harbour. The municipality now has a deal with a private company called Sydney Harbour Investment Partners to assemble a consortium that would finance and build a terminal, but the company says without a functioning rail line, it can't get a shipping company to sign on.

As a former CBRM councillor, Coombes got private updates from the developers.

She said that was two years ago and she is not sure now whether a container terminal deal is realistic, but she said those involved seem to think there's a chance — and the rail line is key.

Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Houston said his party has not given any thought to the Cape Breton rail line.

"If there's a business case presented for an investment, then we'll look at that and make an assessment on that at that time," he said.

"I haven't seen a business case for the port and it's not something I've looked at on the railway part."

In an emailed statement, the Liberals said the government is paying $360,000 a year to keep the rail line in place, and the party's spending priorities in Cape Breton are on hospital redevelopment and construction of the Nova Scotia Community College Marconi campus in downtown Sydney.