Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway

Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway
	;
Reporting mark	MMA
Locale	Maine, Vermont, Quebec
Dates of operation	2002–present
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge)
Headquarters	Hermon, Maine

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The Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway (reporting mark MMA) is a Class II^[1] freight railroad operating in the U.S. states of Maine and Vermont and the Canadian province of Quebec. Its Canadian subsidiary is the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Canada Company. The entire system is owned by Rail World, Inc. and is headquartered near Bangor, Maine.

[edit] History

The railroad was formed in October 2002 by Rail World, Inc. to combine the following lines that were threatened by the bankruptcy of holding company Iron Road Railways:

Closing of the sale by the trustee for Iron Road Railways took place in January 2003 when MMA began operations over 745 miles of track. Currently, an average of 25 trains are operated each day, and the company employs roughly 350 people.^[3]

[edit] Northern Maine abandonment

In early February, 2010, the MMA filed a notice of intent with the Surface Transportation Board that it intended to abandon 233 miles (375 km) of track in northern Maine, between Madawaska and Millinocket, part of the original Bangor & Aroostook Railroad's main line, bought by MMA in 2003.

Affected lines were located in Penobscot County, Maine and Aroostook County, Maine counties and included track serving Houlton, Presque Isle, Caribou and Fort Kent. MMA lines between Millinocket and Montreal, Brownville and Searsport, and Madawaska to Van Buren were not included in this application.

According to the railroad, losses from operating the lines had reached the point where they were threatening the financial health of the entire railroad.^[4] The STB subsequently postponed action on the request in late April, after the railroad and Maine officials agreed to negotiate to prevent the lines from being abandoned, which the state said could negatively affect the economy of the area. State legislators proposed that the state buy the lines and contract out freight rail service, similar to lines in Vermont.^[5]

On October 20, 2010, the railroad reached an agreement to sell 233 miles (375 km) of track in the northern part of Maine to the state government for $20.1 million. The state would then contract operations on the lines to bidders once the deal was closed.^[6]^[6] The U.S. government also issued $10.5 million in funds to upgrade and maintain the line.^[6]

On December 17, 2010, it was announced that the state was accepting bids for the operation of trackage the state was due to purchase, with the deadline for proposals being January 19, 2011.^[7] On December 28, 2010, the STB announced it had approved the abandonment of the tracks in question, allowing the state to purchase them.^[8]

On April 5, 2011, it was announced that Irving Transportation Services, a subsidiary of Canadian-based industrial conglomerate J.D. Irving Limited had been awarded the contract to operate the lines in question.^[9] Irving Transportation Services owns and operates a combined system consisting of the holding company New Brunswick Railway Company and its subsidiaries the New Brunswick Southern Railway (in Canada) and the Eastern Maine Railway (in the United States). The handover of operations of the lines was expected to occur by July 1. It was announced in mid-June that a new Irving subsidiary, Maine Northern Railway had been formed and started operations on the lines. The Maine Northern was expected to hire around 30 more employees, as well as acquire additional locomotives and rolling stock.^[10] In December, 2011, the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic and Eastern Maine Railway reached an agreement with Irving Transportation Services for the MMA to sell the remaining 25 miles (40 km) of track between Madawaska, Maine and Van Buren, Maine, MMA's last track in northern Maine.^[11]