Canadian National announced Wednesday that it is acquiring a stake in the Cape Breton & Central Nova Scotia Railway in Atlantic Canada.
The CB&CNS was created in 1993 when CN spun off nearly 250 miles of track between Truro, Nova Scotia, and Sydney on Cape Breton Island. Today, the CB&CNS is owned by Genesee & Wyoming and operates on 145 miles of track, with the easternmost section from Point Tupper to Sydney currently out of service. The short line was well known among railfans in the 1990s when it acquired a fleet of ex-CN C-630Ms and RS-18s. Today, it uses a fleet of second-hand EMD locomotives.
“We are proud to be partnering with Genesee & Wyoming to serve existing customers on this line,” said Patrick Lortie, senior vice president and chief strategy officer at CN. “This partnership will further reinforce CN’s presence in eastern Canada where we believe there will be a growing role to play in the competitiveness of North American trade. It will also enable our network to reach new opportunities in the longer term, further advancing our strategic agenda of accelerating profitable, sustainable growth.”
According to a press release, G&W will still operate the CB&CNS. The CB&CNS interchanges with CN at Truro.
This is not the first time CN has made an effort to return to Eastern Canada. In 2008, CN took back control of a group of short lines it had previously spun off to Quebec Railway Corporation.