Cape Breton rail proposal 'too rich' for taxpayers

The Nova Scotia government has rejected terms that would sustain a railway in Cape Breton for another year.

The Genesee and Wyoming railway submitted an offer which would more than double the current $3-million subsidy it receives from the province.

As of now, the company will stop its rail operation between the Strait of Canso and Sydney at the end of the year.

"It was too rich for Nova Scotian taxpayers to absorb, absolutely no question. When we looked at that list, the specific numbers that were identified, plus some of those numbers that you can’t quantify, like the overall liabilities and what they would look like — that’s certainly not in the best interest of Nova Scotians, who have invested $23 million since 2003 in this rail line," said Geoff MacLellan, the minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal.

"We were open to looking at the subsidy to continue to get to that date of October 2015 and this offer that they put on the table is not acceptable."

Last week the government introduced legislation that would prevent the company from ripping up portions of the rail line if it's given permission by the Utility and Review Board to discontinue freight service.