RailAmerica plans to ask for an extension of a five-year provincial subsidy to operate a rail line in Cape Breton.

Under the agreement with the Nova Scotia government, RailAmerica gets up to $2 million a year to cover operating losses and maintenance costs on the section between Port Hawkesbury and Sydney.

The five-year deal with the company, which owns the Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway, expires next March.

"We believe there's some business potential beyond that, but that business isn't there today," said Peter Touesnard, the company's regional vice-president. "We're hoping to enter into discussions with the province of Nova Scotia before too long to look at extending that subsidy until that business is realized in the Sydney area."

The agreement was signed in 2005, a year after RailAmerica applied to abandon the railway line.

Nova Scotia's three main political parties all say they would discuss extending the subsidy if they are elected to govern after the June 9 provincial election.

The Liberals and NDP, however, also want the railway company to address the issue of access fees charged to landowners.

People who live along the rail line say the company is charging sky-high rates to bring services such as sewer and water across the tracks. Last year, one landowner's fees jumped from $300 to $9,000 a year.