By Greg MacLeod

Nova Scotia spends over $ 200 million on highways every year. Engineers estimate that a fully loaded truck trailer causes more damage to a highway than 5,000 cars

Safety: material that was carried by 500+ rail cars will be traveling by tracer trailers- 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

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?