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Railway Discontinuance of Services and Abandonment Regulations

made under

Section 48 of the

Railways Act

S.N.S. 1993, c. 11

O.I.C. 2016-77 (March 29, 2016), N.S. Reg. N.S. Reg. 55/2016

Citation

1 These regulations may be cited as the Railway Discontinuance of Services and

Abandonment Regulations .

Definitions

(1) In these regulations,

“Act” means the Railways Act ;

“abandonment plan” means the plan required by clause 14(2)(

a) to accompany an

application for approval to abandon a railway line;

“date of abandonment” of a railway line means the date determined by the Minister

under

Section 18 on approval of an application for approval to abandon the railway

line;

“deadline for expressions of interest” means the deadline required by clause 5(2)(

d) to be stated in an advertisement of an owner’s or lessee’s intention to abandon a

railway line;

“municipality” means a regional municipality, town or county or district

municipality;

“net salvage value”, in relation to a railway line, means the net value of the railway

line less the estimated cost of disposal, as determined in accordance with the

Canadian Transportation Agency Guidelines Respecting Net Salvage Value

Determination Applications as amended or replaced from time to time;

“owner or lessee”, in relation to a railway line, means the owner or lessee of the

railway line.

(2) In the Act and these regulations,

“abandonment” means the discontinuance of all railway services on a railway line

whether or not track and structures are removed from the railway line;

“discontinuance of service”, in relation to a railway service or a type of railway

service, means the withdrawal of the service or type of service on a railway line, but

does not include withdrawal of services from a yard, track, siding or spur or other

auxiliary track.

Part 1: Discontinuance of Service

Application to Board for discontinuance of service

3 An application by a railway company to the Board under subsection 41(2) of the Act for a

determination of the length of notice required for a proposed discontinuance of service and

approval of a discontinuance plan must include all of the following:

(

a) a description of the railway line on which the railway service is to be

discontinued;

(

b) the proposed date of discontinuance;

(

c) a list of shippers who, within the previous 12 months, used the railway service

that is proposed to be discontinued;

(

d) a proposed discontinuance plan, including any plan to reduce the railway

service before the proposed date of discontinuance.

Publishing notice of discontinuance of service

4 A notice of discontinuance of service required by clause 41(1)(

a) of the Act must be

published in 1 or more newspapers having general circulation in the municipalities that

would be most affected by the discontinuance and must include all of the following

information:

(

a) a description of the railway line on which the railway service is to be

discontinued;

(

b) a statement that the railway company no longer intends to provide the railway

service after the date of discontinuance;

(

c) if the railway line is no longer to be used for any railway service, a statement

that the railway line or the operating interest in the railway line is available for

sale, lease or transfer to a railway company for continued operation.

Part 2: Abandonment

Notice of intention to abandon

(1) Before applying for approval to abandon a railway line, the owner or lessee must do

all of the following:

(

a) notify the Minister and each municipality the railway line runs through, in

writing, of its intention to abandon the railway line;

(

b) at least 30 days after notifying the Minister and municipalities under clause (a),

advertise its intention to abandon the railway line once a week for 2

consecutive weeks in a newspaper or newspapers having general circulation in

the municipalities that would be most affected by the abandonment.

(2) The advertisement required by clause (1)(

b) must contain all of the following

information:

(

a) a statement that the owner or lessee no longer intends to operate the railway

line;

(

b) a statement that the railway line is available for sale, lease or transfer for

continued operation to a person authorized under the Act to operate a railway;

(

c) a description of the railway line;

(

d) the date by which a person interested in acquiring the railway line must express

their interest in writing to the owner or lessee, which must be no later than 30

days after the date the advertisement is first published.

Filing statement with Minister

(1) No later than 30 days after the date the advertisement required by clause 5(1)(

b) is

first published, the owner or lessee must file a statement with the Minister in the

form required by the Minister and including all of the following information:

(

a) the net salvage value of the railway line;

(

b) a list of all structures on the railway line, including all of the following:

(

i) bridges,

(ii) culverts and other drainage structures,

(iii) retaining walls,

(iv) tunnels,

(

v) rock sheds,

(vi) service pits,

(vii) storage tanks;

(

c) the location of all road and utility crossings on the railway line;

(

d) a list of property included with the railway line that is not required for railway

purposes;

(

e) a list of existing environmental reports and studies for the railway line,

including environmental assessment reports and geotechnical and erosion

studies.

(2) In addition to the statement required by subsection (1), the owner or lessee must

provide the Minister with a copy of each crossing agreement for the railway line.

Process for evaluating expressions of interest

7 If, before the deadline for expressions of interest, a person expresses interest in acquiring a

railway line that is intended to be abandoned, the owner or lessee must immediately

disclose the process it intends to follow for receiving and evaluating the offers it receives

to that person and to the Minister.

Negotiating with interested person

(1) An owner or lessee must negotiate with any interested person in good faith and in

accordance with the process disclosed under

Section 7.

(2) On application by an owner or lessee that has not, by the end of 6 months after the

deadline for expressions of interest, reached an agreement with any person for the

sale, lease or transfer of the railway line, the Minister may grant an extension of up

to 6 months to the owner or lessee to continue to negotiate the sale, lease or transfer,

if the Minister is satisfied that the extension is likely to result in an agreement.

Offer to Minister and municipalities

9 In any of the following circumstances, an owner or lessee must offer to sell the railway line

for its net salvage value to the Minister on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the

Province and to each municipality the railway line runs through:

(

a) the deadline for expressions of interest has passed and no one has expressed an

interest in acquiring the railway line;

(

b) by the end of 6 months after the deadline for expressions of interest or any

extension granted by the Minister under subsection 8(2), the owner or lessee

has failed to reach an agreement for the sale, lease or transfer of the railway

line;

(

c) the owner or lessee has reached an agreement with a person for the sale, lease

or transfer of the railway line, but the transaction has not been completed in

accordance with the agreement.

Determining priorities of multiple interests

(1) For their interest in acquiring the railway line to be considered, the Minister, on

behalf of Her Majesty in Right of the Province, or a municipality must express the

interest in writing to the owner or lessee no later than 30 days after the date the

Minister or municipality receives an offer under

Section 9.

(2) If more than 1 expression of interest is provided to an owner or lessee under

subsection (1), the priority of interests is determined as follows:

(

a) the Minister has first priority and if the Minister expresses an interest, the

owner or lessee must not consider any municipal expression of interest;

(

b) if there is no expression of interest from the Minister, the owner or lessee must

consider each municipal expression of interest for the portion of the railway

line within the municipality’s boundaries.

Negotiating terms of agreement for sale to Minister or municipality

(1) An owner or lessee and any party whose expression of interest is being considered

under

Section 10 must negotiate in good faith in an effort to reach an agreement on

the terms of sale of the railway line, including the net salvage value of the railway

line.

(2) If the parties do not reach an agreement on net salvage value within 90 days after

beginning negotiations, the matter must be referred to an independent appraiser,

which may be the Canadian Transportation Agency, to determine the net salvage

value.

(3) The cost of an appraiser to which a matter is referred under subsection (2) must be

borne equally by the parties.

Removing safety devices before transferring title

12 Before transferring title to a railway line to the Minister on behalf of Her Majesty in Right

of the Province or to a municipality, the owner or lessee must, if requested by the intended

purchaser,

(

a) remove all safety devices from the public road crossings on the railway line;

and

(

b) repair the road surface to a condition satisfactory to the Minister.

Definition for Sections 14 to 18

13 In Sections 14 to 18, “applicant” means an owner or lessee of a railway line that applies to

the Minister under

Section 16 for approval to abandon the railway line.

Application to approve abandonment plan

(1) If no sale, lease or transfer of a railway line has been concluded in compliance with

these regulations, the owner or lessee must apply to the Minister for approval to

abandon the railway line.

(2) An application for approval to abandon a railway line must be in the form required

by the Minister and must include all of the following:

(

a) an abandonment plan, including the proposed date of abandonment;

(

b) if the applicant intends to retain the railway line after it is abandoned, proof

that the applicant has an insurance policy that is in force and includes all the

coverage required by

Section 7 of the Railway Notification and Licence

Regulations made under the Act.

(3) An abandonment plan must include all of the following:

(

a) a statement as to whether the applicant will remove the structures and track on

the railway line;

(

b) if structures and track are to be removed, details about

(

i) the scope of work for the removal,

(ii) the contractor or contractors that the applicant proposes will conduct the

removal work,

(iii) the estimated time required for completion of the removal work,

(iv) liability insurance coverage that the applicant proposes to maintain

during the removal;

(

c) if all structures and track are not to be removed, the applicant’s plan for

managing the railway line to ensure there is no unreasonable risk to the public

or environment.

(4) An applicant must demonstrate, to the Minister’s satisfaction, compliance with

Sections 5 to 11 when applying for approval to abandon a railway line.

line under subsection 42(2) of the Act include the following:

(

a) any conditions the Minister considers necessary to adequately protect the

public, including a requirement to remove tracks and structures;

(

b) a requirement that the applicant provide security in the amount, form or

manner specified by the Minister.

Reasons for refusing application for abandonment

16 The Minister may refuse an application for abandonment of a railway line in any of the

following circumstances:

(

a) the Minister is not satisfied that the applicant has complied with Sections 5 to

11;

(

b) the applicant does not provide proof of insurance as required by clause

14(2)(b);

(

c) in the Minister’s opinion, the abandonment plan proposed by the applicant

does not provide for adequate protection of the public.

Deadline for decision on application for approval to abandon railway line

(1) Unless the Minister notifies the applicant otherwise in writing, the Minister must

decide on an application for approval to abandon a railway line no later than 60 days

after the date the Minister receives the application.

(2) The Minister must notify an applicant in writing of the decision in the application

together with reasons for the decision.

Date of abandonment

(1) Subject to subsection (2), on approving an application for approval to abandon a

railway line, the Minister must determine the date of abandonment.

(2) If structures and track are to be removed from a railway line that is to be abandoned,

the date of abandonment must not be before the date they are removed.

(3) The Minister must notify the applicant and the Board of the date of abandonment.

(4) A railway line must not be abandoned before the date of abandonment.

Insurance coverage for railway retained after abandonment

(1) An owner or lessee that retains a railway line after abandoning it must, for as long as

it holds the railway line, continue to maintain the insurance coverage referred to in

clause 14(2)(b).

(2) In each year, no later than the anniversary of the date of abandonment, an owner or

lessee that retains an abandoned railway line must provide proof to the Minister that

the insurance coverage required by subsection (1) is still in force.

Crossing agreements for railway line retained after abandonment

20 All road and utility crossing agreements for an abandoned railway line that is being

retained by the owner or lessee must continue in force for 5 years after the date of

abandonment.