At the present time, heavy freight traffic is being diverted from the railway system to the highway using 18 wheel tractor trailers. It seems that shipping companies prefer to use tax payer funded highways rather than maintain rail-beds. The result of these policies may mean the shutting down of railways and serious economic harm to future business development.

Businesses Under Threat If We Lose The Railroad

• Over 13 rail users with over $62 million in annual sales could be forced to close down
• Job Losses - 500 estimated combined direct, indirect and induced employment dependant on rail
• We would lose $7.5 million in direct payroll
• A weakened economy - $13.5 million in direct impact on economy through business operations with an additional $31.1 million in direct and indirect impact

Worst of all - the lack of rail eliminates opportunities for the creation of new businesses

How Should Freight Be Transported? Rail or Highway?
Nova Scotia spends over $200 million on highways every year.
Engineers estimate that a fully loaded truck causes more damage to a highway than 5,000 cars

• Safety: material now carried by 500+ rail cars will be traveling by transfer trucks - the discontinuation of rail will add approximately 2,380 heavy truck onto our highways
• Energy efficiency: on average a freight train can move 1 ton of freight about 484 miles on just one gallon of fuel. Comparable data for truck transport suggest that trucks move 1 ton of freight 155 miles on one gallon of fuel
• Cost effective: cheaper than other modes of transportation
• Environment Impacts: rail is the most efficient, safe and secure mode of ground transportation that moves Canadian goods