Neermul, Dhaneshwar K. "Towards a Policy Framework on Abandoned Railway Rights-of-Way in the Province of Nova Scotia"

Railways once played an important role in the transportation sector. This role has lowly diminished in significance and once prosperous lines are now being abandoned by the railroads. The abandonment of service in some parts of Nova Scotia has created much controversy over whether or not some branch lines scheduled for abandonment are profitable. This study is concerned, however, with planning that should be under taken for the rights-of-way that are left behind when the service is halted. The assumption here is that some lines will inevitably be abandoned, therefore a policy should be formulated at the provincial level for their disposition and reuse, and future land-uses for the rights-of-way should be determined now.

Many of these rights-of-way, because of their physical characteristics, present themselves as potential trails, alternative transportation corridors, utility line easements, or agricultural uses. These potential uses of the rights-of-way are investigated and their suitability evaluated on the basis of various examples. The study reveals that there are few jurisdictions which have taken advantage of the reuse potential of these rights-of-way, although many would like to, and fewer have policy or regulations that can guide their reuse and disposition. Cases are provided here to show the problems that can arise when a policy is lacking.

Given the number of railway line abandonments that have taken place in Nova Scotia, the time is opportune for a policy to be formulated to guide the disposition and reuse of this province's railway ROWs, before the opportunity to introduce alternative uses on these corridors is lost. A model policy statement for the disposition and reuse of these rights-of-way is presented in the concluding chapter of this study.

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This document was last modified on January 9, 2001.