Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Big NBSR Announcement

NBSR 2319 and Supporters. Photo from Province of New Brunswick web site
L-R: John Murphy, VP Transportation, JD Irving Ltd; Premier Shawn Graham; Veterans Affairs Minister Greg Thompson; James Irving, President, NBSR; Rick Miles, Fredericton-Silverwood MLA; Ian Simpson, General Manager of NBSR. Photo courtesy Province of New Brunswick.

The announcement was made this morning. The federal and provincial governments will each invest up to $9 million in right-of-way improvements, including ties, rails, bridges, and yard improvements in Saint John and McAdam. NB Southern Railway will invest an unspecified amount. The track from Saint John to the Maine border will be upgraded, as well as the McAdam to Saint Stephen branch. The money is to be spent in 2009 and 2010.

Provincial announcement, J.D. Irving announcement, CBC, Daily Gleaner

I enjoyed the comments in the CBC article from Kevin Gaudet, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, who called the federal investment "fiscal child abuse" and "these silly wastes of taxpayers' money".

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