Central Maine and Quebec Railway

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The Central Maine and Québec Railway ( AAR Reporting mark : CMQR) is a US regional railroad company based in Maine , Vermont and Québec . In Canada, the company operates under the name of Central Maine and Québec Canada Inc. The company is based in Hermon (Maine) . The route network covers around 774 kilometers.

In November 2019 it was announced that the company would be taken over by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP). On December 30, 2019, CP announced that it had completed the financial aspects of the takeover, while the acquisition of the US part by CP subsidiary Soo Line Railroad initially required the approval of the Surface Transportation Board . This was granted on May 1, 2020 and, with the addition of May 8, 2020, the operational integration of the CMQR into the Soo Line was approved from June 3, 2020.

Route network

The route network basically consists of a west-east route and a north-south route. The west-east route leads from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu , from where route usage rights exist to Montreal, via Sherbrooke , Lac-Mégantic to Brownville Junction . There, this route meets the former Bangor and Aroostook Railroad from Saint-Léonard (New Brunswick) to Searsport. In addition, some shorter branch lines are also served. Important connections exist in Montreal to the Canadian Pacific Railway , in Saint Jean, Sherbrooke and Saint-Hyacinthe to the Canadian National Railway , in Bangor to the Pan Am Railways and in Brownville to the East Maine Railway . From 2016, the CMQR will also operate freight traffic on the 91 kilometer long Brunswick – Rockland railway line . The connection to the rest of the railroad's network is only possible via Pan Am Railways. The section belongs to the state of Maine.

history

Montréal, Maine and Atlantic Railway

Logo of the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway

In January 2003, Rail World , founded by Edward Burkhardt , acquired the assets of the bankrupt Iron Road Railways , in particular the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad network , and the new company traded under the name Montréal, Maine & Atlantic Railway ( AAR Reporting mark : MMA). The start of operations was marked by the bankruptcy of one of the company's most important customers, a paper mill in Millinocket . The company could only be kept alive through drastic cost-cutting measures. In the period that followed, however, the situation improved. With the resumption of production in the paper mills and the start of piggyback transport together with the New Brunswick Southern Railway on the Farnham - St. John route, enough traffic was acquired to enable profitable traffic.

With around 350 employees and a fleet of 49 locomotives of the types EMD GP7 , GP 38-3 , F59PHI as well as GE C30-7 , GE C36-7 and GE B39-8 , there is mainly through traffic on the main routes and due to the favorable connections to others Companies also ensured the rail connection of important customers in Maine.

In August 2009, the railway company announced the plan to shut down the entire route network north of Millinocket (388 kilometers) because the maintenance costs are higher than the income. The line from Saint-Leonard (Canada) to Madawaska in the far north of the state was later exempted from this plan, the remaining lines were sold to the state, which leased them to the Eastern Maine Railway in 2011 .

On July 6, 2013 , several tank cars loaded with oil and oil products burned in the Canadian town of Lac-Mégantic on the Brookport – Mattawamkeag railway line . The driverless freight train had set up its own business 13 kilometers away, near the town of Nantes ; he derailed in the village; then the Lac-Mégantic railway accident occurred . As a result of this accident and the high clean-up costs, the Canadian and American companies had to file for bankruptcy on August 7, 2013. In October 2019, a project to bypass Lac-Mégantic on a 12.8 kilometer new line was presented. Construction is scheduled to start in 2020.

Central Maine and Québec Railway

In January 2014, the train was auctioned and acquired for 16 million US dollars by the Fortress Investment Group , which reorganized the railway company under the name Central Maine and Québec Railway Inc. The Canadian operation part which previously known as Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway Canada Co. changed its name when it became Central Maine and Quebec Railway Canada Inc. established. According to the Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT), CMQR began operations on the former MMA network in central and northern Maine in June 2014, after originally scheduled for March 17th.

In 2015, the CMQR won the tender for freight transport on the Brunswick – Rockland line in Maine, which had previously been carried out by the Maine Eastern Railway . The start of operations is planned for January 1, 2016. This increases the length of the route network by 91 kilometers.

literature

  • George S. Pitarys: The Short Line Survives . In: Railfan & Railroad . 05/05, Carstens Publishing Inc., pp. 44-51, ISSN  0163-7266

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Bengt Dahlberg: Canada: CP acquires Central Maine & Quebec Railway from Fortress Transportation. Locomotive Report , November 22, 2019, accessed on November 23, 2019 .
  2. ^ CP completes Central Maine & Quebec Railway acquisition. Canadian Pacific Railway , December 30, 2019, accessed January 18, 2020 (Canadian Pacific Railway press release).
  3. ↑ STB approves CP acquisition of Central Maine & Quebec rail line. Progressive Railroading , May 14, 2020, accessed on May 23, 2020 .
  4. ↑ Article on progressiverailroading.com
  5. ↑ Article on progressiverailroading.com
  6. ↑ Train accident in Canada: tank car explosion devastates small town. In: Spiegel Online . Retrieved July 6, 2013 .
  7. ↑ Progressive Railroading August 8, 2013: Quebec accident: Montreal, Maine & Atlantic files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, stops moving crude oil
  8. ↑ Canada: Lac-Mégantic accident site is to be bypassed (source: Radio Canada, BAPE, Journal de Montréal). Locomotive Report , November 1, 2019, accessed on November 23, 2019 .
  9. ↑ MaineDOT Delivers 2014 Year-End Report
  10. ↑ Progressive Railroading March 3, 2014: Fortress seeks STB approval to acquire, control MMA and Canadian affiliate
  11. ↑ Trains Magazine: Central Maine & Quebec aims to regain lost traffic, start operations within a month
  12. ↑ Article in Trains Magazine (accessed September 9, 2015)