Nova Scotia

Washed-out CN rail line south of Truro repaired

Trains moved through Halifax on Friday morning — the first time since last weekend's flooding.

Train service between Halifax and the rest of the country has been restored

A damaged rail line is shown suspended over a river. There is forest on either side of the river.
This section of CN rail line near Truro, N.S., was washed out during the flooding of July 21 and 22, 2023. (Nigel Gloade/Millbrook First Nation)

A major CN rail line south of Truro, N.S., that washed out during last week's devastating flooding has been repaired, and train service between Halifax and the rest of the country has been restored.

"I understand it was a fairly involved repair, that they put a lot of resources into get things up and running again as quickly as they could," Lane Farguson, the spokesperson for the Halifax Port Authority, said of CN's repair.

More than 60 per cent of cargo coming through Halifax moves by rail.

The port authority and CN are working to "efficiently resume moving cargo by rail to and from the container terminals," the authority said in a news release. Ship schedules haven't been affected by the disruption.

Farguson said there is still some backlog to be cleared, "but we didn't have to take steps like moving the empties off the container yard."

"There's probably some good learnings from all this and a recognition of the importance of keeping those transportation lines in good condition and up and running," he said.

With files from Carsten Knox