Central Maine and Quebec Railway

EMR to Acquire 45 Miles of CMQR Track (UPDATED)

Class III Eastern Maine Railway Company (EMR) has filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1150.41 to acquire approximately 36.57 miles of main line and nine miles of branch line in Maine from Central Maine & Quebec Railway US Inc. (CMQR), which is owned by Canadian Pacific (CP).

Jason Seidl, Cowen and Co. Managing Director and Railway Age Wall Street Contributing Editor

Cowen: Is the COVID-19 Recovery Sustainable?

Intermodal’s growth path may help railroads sustain COVID-19 recovery. “Participants from Class I railroads were positive on current trends and cautiously optimistic that these trends can continue for the remainder of 2020 and beyond,” Cowen and Co. analysts Jason Seidl (Managing Director and Railway Age Wall Street Contributing Editor), Matt Elkott and Adam Kramer reported, following their attendance and participation at the North East Association of Rail Shippers (NEARS) Fall 2020 Virtual Conference. “Continued tightness in trucking is benefiting intermodal.”

Bypass Build Slated for Lac-Mégantic

Few will forget that horrific day, July 6, 2013, when a crewless, runaway Montreal, Maine & Atlantic crude oil train with five locomotives and 75 loaded DOT-111 tank cars carrying volatile Bakken crude rolled into Lac-Mégantic, Quebec and derailed. The resulting fireballs and explosions (contrary to popular belief, the derailed cars did not explode; their contents ignited after the tanks had been breached) killed 47 people, and a large section of the downtown area was destroyed. The tragedy’s aftermath, as well as accidents involving other CBR trains in the U.S. and Canada, led to a long regulatory process resulting in the stronger DOT 117 tank car as well as several changes to CBR operating regulations.

CP to Acquire CM&Q From Fortress

Canadian Pacific (CP) has reached an agreement with Fortress Transportation and Infrastructure Investors LLC (FTII) to acquire the Central Maine & Quebec Railway (CM&Q).