Requested railway information mostly redacted
A Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act application into reimbursement claims made by the company that operates the shortline railway in Cape Breton proved less than illuminating.
The Cape Breton Post had requested documents including correspondence from the Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway to the Department of Business concerning claims made for reimbursement under the railway preservation agreement the province struck with the railway’s parent company Genesee & Wyoming. However, of the documents that were disclosed, most of the information was redacted.
A spokesperson for the Department of Business told the Cape Breton Post on Friday that under the one-year agreement, the province has received invoices totaling about $456,000 or an average monthly claim of $38,000 and about $266,000 has been disbursed to date.
In March the province renewed the agreement that sees the Cape Breton portion of the Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway preserved for a period in exchange for the province reimbursing some operational expenses.
The agreement was reached last September, however it was backdated to March, meaning the treasury board had to determine whether to renew the deal.
At the time the deal was renewed, Business Minister Geoff MacLellan said that while the arrangement is over multiple years it must be formally renewed annually.
Under the preservation agreement, the existing rail line between St. Peter’s Junction, near Port Hawkesbury, and Sydney will be maintained. The company agreed to not apply to abandon the line and the province will reimburse what it described as valid expenses up to $60,000 a month.
Repairs or improvements to the line are not to be reimbursed. Expenses directly attributed to the line such as salaries, insurance, security and building maintenance are eligible.
A recent study by consultant HATCH for the Sydney Port Development Corp. pegged the cost at $103 million to enable Cape Breton’s railway to handle the double-stacked containers necessary to support a container development.
While parent company Genesee & Wyoming had threatened to apply to abandon the line and tear up the tracks, which haven’t seen any rail traffic since late 2015, when talk about potential for a container terminal at the port of Sydney began growing, the company decided to change tacks. At that point, the company approached the province to discuss assistance for shortterm operational costs.