Nova Scotia Overview - Transportation


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TRANSPORTATION IN NOVA SCOTIA

Air: Air Canada, Continental and other regional airlines and charter services operate out of the Halifax International Airport. They offer regular flights to all Canadian destinations and direct international service to such points as Boston, New York and London.

Airports with service connecting to all key Atlantic Canadian destinations are also located in Yarmouth and Sydney. Numerous smaller facilities are located throughout the province to serve private craft and flying clubs.

Rail and Bus: The Canadian National (CN) Railroad operates the primary rail connection linking Halifax and regional and international shippers to markets throughout Canada and the U.S. CN also offers access to an extensive intermodal service through its Halifax Richmond Terminal and service to the two container terminals located in the city.

There are two shortline railways under provincial jurisdiction providing service to some regional and local shippers. The Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway operates from Sydney to Truro, where it interchanges with CN. The Windsor and Hantsport Railway operates between Windsor Junction and New Minas, connecting with CN at Windsor Junction.

VIA Rail operates a six-day-a-week transcontinental passenger rail service between Halifax and Montreal. Acadian Lines provides a bus link to most major communities in Nova Scotia and other parts of Canada. There are also a number of regional and local bus services.

Highways: There are approximately 26,000 kilometres of highways in Nova Scotia. The so-called 100-series highways (because they are numbered 101, 103, etc.) are good quality all-weather roads. Much of the 100-series roadway is two-lane pavement (with a third passing lane on many hills). They are, however, limited access roads for the most part. There are also long stretches that are twinned (four-lane divided), especially highway 102 running from Halifax to Truro, where it joins the 104. The 104 runs from the New Brunswick border east across mainland Nova Scotia to Sydney, on Cape Breton Island.

Water: Numerous ports dot the coastline of the province. The port of Halifax is one of the world's finest deep-water ports in North America and the most northerly of the major ice-free ports on the North Atlantic. It offers a 21 metre-deep ice free harbour with easy approaches and two modern container terminals, each with on-dock rail service and the capability to handle varied cargoes, as well as the largest container ships.

Car/passenger ferry service: (some seasonal and some year-round) connects Port-aux-Basques and Argentia, Newfoundland to North Sydney, Nova Scotia; Saint John, New Brunswick to Digby, Nova Scotia; Bar Harbor and Portland, Maine toYarmouth, Nova Scotia; and Wood Islands, Prince Edward Island to Caribou (near Pictou), Nova Scotia.