Some residents who live between Little Bras d’Or and Grand Narrows are frustrated with the tolls paid to Genesee and Wyoming Railroad owners and want changes. Before she bought land in Beaver Cove last September, Carole Young heard rumors about how much it might cost to power her home. He knew he would have to deal with the owner of the railroad. Young paid nearly $30,000 to run electricity to her home. “Everything we were warned about had happened. But it seemed like, wow, it’s really that expensive,” Young said. There were the usual costs of the poles and 403 meters of service wire – $6,810.20 paid to Bell Aliant – and another $21,134.61 to Nova Scotia Power. Of that, $14,410 was classified as “other” charges in the bid.
Fees add up
A Nova Scotia Power spokesman could not say how much of that $14,410 went to rail owners, but the “other” category breaks down into three areas: costs to the rail owner, costs related to a mandatory study and survey work under the Transport Canada Act and a fee charged by the NSP to review plans. Jacqueline Foster, NSP communications consultant, said there are requirements under the Transport Canada Act that must be met when a customer requests a service that involves running power lines on a railway, and written consent from the owner of the railway is also required . Application and right-of-way fees are passed through the NSP and paid to the railway line owner. A railway line runs alongside the eastern shore of the lakes and people say that the fees charged by the company to cross the lines are prohibitive. (Joan Weeks/CBC) André Houde, vice-president of human resources at Genesee and Wyoming Canada Inc., said in a statement that the fees assessed by the Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railways to operate power lines, internet and other utilities are explained in theirs Website. “For private transit agreements, fees are assessed on a case-by-case basis and depend on the size of the encroachment and the type of easement being granted,” Hood said. According to the website, residents must apply for a utility permit to begin the process. There is a $1,000 application fee and a $1,750 engineering review fee for processing. If approved, an entry permit must then be secured to move onto railroad property — costing another $1,750. For example, an application for overhead cable crossings costs $4,500. The company also offers expedited processing for an additional $2,500. Young never imagined that it would cost so much to gain power – both financially and spiritually. “Nobody’s listening to anybody. Nobody’s taking action. And it’s a really sad situation,” Young said.
Provincially regulated
Residents of the area have long been fighting for the government to make changes to the fees. In 2017, the Nova Scotia government paid a consultant $15,000 to study the fees charged by the railway’s owner. That report estimated that the cost to install new power lines along the railroad would be approximately $16,300, including railroad owner approval and NSP engineering evaluation. The consultant also found that there is no standard fee for private grade crossings in Canada’s other seven provinces that operate short-gauge rail lines, although OmniTrax in Manitoba has similar fees to Genesee and Wyoming for private grade crossing applications. The Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway has been a provincially regulated railway since 1994. It is also government subsidized. A spokesperson for Nova Scotia’s economic development department confirmed that the province has renewed the line maintenance agreement with Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway Limited for an additional year from April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023 at $360,000 per year. Residents who spoke to CBC News still want the fees to be regulated or removed by the government, especially since the trains are no longer running on the tracks.
Too expensive for many
Ed Fedora wants to move to Big Beach to retire, but he’s looking for high fees to bring power to the ski slopes in his little bungalow at Bras d’Or Lakes. (Emily Latimer) Ed Fedora has been a summer resident of Big Beach for 20 years. He is nearing retirement and wants to move there full time. But securing power on the tracks is an issue. “We need power. The Nova Scotia government is responsible for regulating the railways as well as dealing with these electricity issues, and they’ve failed to do anything,” Fedora said. Fedora knows of 50 families in the area who are without power because they refuse to pay the railroad. He said it hinders development along Bras d’Or Lake. “The province did nothing for 20 years. It didn’t matter if it was Liberal, Conservative. Everyone passed the buck,” Fedora said. “If this continues with the high cost of providing power and things here, I’m probably going to have to go like a lot of my neighbors now to full solar,” Fedora said.
Barriers to Internet connection
Residents have to pay thousands of dollars to run lines over these tracks in Cape Breton. (Emily Latimer) It’s not just strength. Many residents who have been waiting for the 2021 fiber optic Internet expansion in rural Cape Breton can’t afford the additional fees to the rail line to run fiber on the tracks. “We’ve had so many excited residents. And once again, another hurdle to get over those lines,” said Cape Breton District 3 Coun. Cyril MacDonald. “Most of the people out there are elderly and they just can’t afford an extra several thousand dollars to run a line across the property to maybe get better Internet,” he said. A Bell Canada spokesperson said there are significant costs associated with bringing fiber to rail, including surveys, construction and permitting. MacDonald said the additional fees on the rail line are confusing and frustrating to residents. “It looks like the rail line has that number and the money is going somewhere, but they’re certainly not doing maintenance on the rail lines,” he said. “Where does this money go?” he said referring to obstacles along the railroad tracks, including wear and tear and trees growing between the ties. A Transport Canada spokesman said the Canadian Transportation Agency has the authority to resolve disputes related to road, utility and private crossings, but that oversight only applies to federally regulated railways. While there is no formal mechanism for disputes over provincially regulated railways in Nova Scotia, landowners are advised to contact Transport and Infrastructure Renewal and the Nova Scotia Utilities and Review Board if they cannot reach an agreement with railway owners lines.
