Sydney rail service critical: Copol

A customer of the railway in Cape Breton says losing the service would cost his business $500,000 a year.

A five-year provincial subsidy for the rail line expired Wednesday.

A spokesperson for the province says a decision on extending the subsidy is comingsoon.

The Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway has asked the government to extend the $10-million deal to allow more time to grow business on the line.

The trains will keep running until at least April 30, said the rail line's general manager, Shannon Toner.

"If we don't hear back from the province by the end of April, we will be in contact with the province," said Toner.

Probably 95 per cent of the raw materials that we do use in our factory and this facility come in by rail," said David Sawler, general manager of Copol International.

Copol, established in 1992, manufactures flexible packaging materials from the Northside Industrial Park in North Sydney. Sawler saysrail is the best way to get their raw materials.

"Alternativesare relatively limited and also much more costly.So, we would have some decisions that would have to be made going forward about how we would continue to operate without rail service available to us," said Sawler.

Sawler says there's a good business case to continue the subsidy for another five years with developments like the Port of Sydney on the horizon.