Ending Rail service in Cape Breton means Truck Subsidization

From: "Doyle, Tim" <Tim.Doyle@freedom55financial.com>
To: Sustainable Maritimes <sust-mar@chebucto.ns.ca>
Date: Tue, 3 Dec 2002 09:54:40 -0500
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Return-Path: <sust-mar-mml-owner@chebucto.ns.ca>

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Please post this letter that was recently published by the Cape Breton Post:

Costs severe if Cape Breton loses railway
Cape Breton Post 
Thu 28 Nov 2002 
Page: A6 
Section: Comment 
Byline: Tim Doyle 
Source: Cape Breton Post

Congratulations on keeping the issue of rail abandonment in Cape Breton in
the spotlight (Railway File Starts to Roll, Editorial, Nov. 14). Most people
understand that a successful economy can be built only with a strong
infrastructure base. For this to occur, we have needed strong government
support to build and maintain roads, bridges, and (until recent years) rail
lines. 

Government has maintained its commitment to roads only, and has paid a steep
price fiscally and environmentally for this policy.

Here are two facts to consider: It costs roughly $1 million to pave a mile
of road, and one rail carload is equivalent to roughly three truckloads. If
the Cape Breton rail link is abandoned, you will immediately need a twinned
highway to accommodate the extra trucks that will be added to an already
overcrowded Cape Breton highway system.

The environment will be damaged because much land will be needed to widen
highways, and emissions will increase.

Then take into account the millions per year that will be needed to repave
and maintain the highways after we convert to a truck-only system. One fully
loaded truck imposes the same amount of damage to our roads as 10,000 cars.
More money will be needed for extra policing and emergency services to deal
with accidents. The province does not have that type of money to invest in
roads in Cape Breton.

Next, take a look at how many companies that manufacture goods in industrial
Cape Breton will move to southern Ontario where they can be close to rail
and to customers. Losing that rail link amounts to bad business for all
stakeholders involved.

Shipping gypsum by rail from Melford could create 100 cars of traffic per
day. Intermodal services at North Sydney could provide at least 1,000 rail
cars per year. Maybe if we focused on putting the long-haul, road-damaging
trucks back on the rails where they belong, the railroad would not be having
financial difficulties. CN needs to be a more reliable partner here.

For those people who are still convinced that any government support for
rail is a bad thing because we shouldn't be "subsidizing" rail in any way,
take a look at how much subsidy we grant to the trucking industry in the
form of a free highway system that we fix ourselves. What we could save by
not repaving our highways every single year (if more trucks were put on rail
cars) would more than make up for the cost of helping the rail industry
survive. 

Tim Doyle, Transport 2000 Atlantic Board Member

Halifax 



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