MMA To File 241 Mile Abandonment With STB

Boy this is a win win for MMA. They get all business that travels the route, whether they operate or a captive state appointed carrier does, they don't have to maintain or pay taxes on the track or ROW. Kudos go to whoever wrote up this abandonment application!

If the new operator is not given a trackage rights agreement to get to either CN at St. Leonard, NB or the EMRY/NBSR at Brownsville Jct., all traffic will still be captive interchange for MMA.

The consulting firm (Rail Industries Inc.) hired by the state to evaluate the takeover did not mince words about this issue in their report:

"The biggest concern for pursuing this project lies in the fact that MMA’s potential abandoned segment of the railroad along Madawaska subdivision has no direct connection with any other regional or Class I railroads. This would force a potential third party operator to rely entirely on MMA for its interchange needs, unless MMA would like to be the operator for the line after MaineDOT acquires it. It would be difficult for a potential third party operator to improve the rail service if it has to rely entirely on MMA for interchange because it would not have control over its own service..."

"...Without direct interchange points, the line will not be able to negotiate competitive rates and control its own service levels, and preservation of this corridor may be unobtainable. If purchasing or leasing additional trackage rights are not negotiable, an alternative option is to obtain MMA’s commitment to cooperate on service schedules and fees as a precondition for acquiring the line and ensuring further support from the MaineDOT on MMA’s overall operations in the state." (RRI bolded)

It looks as if once again, Maine's legislature is posturing to get federal funding on this. My gut tells me they won't have the foresight or the backbone to force this issue. Which would be a shame, as it would unfairly reward MMA.

Looks like the Senate has approved a scaled-back bond issue, WITH the MMA purchase still intact...

http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/141030.html

That still begs the question-- this won't even get to voters until June. MMA has said they plan to wrap up operations on the segment proposed for abandonment by summer. Will the rails still go silent for a period of time, or can the state convince the MMA to keep operating the lines until the state purchase is completed, IF the bond issue is approved by voters?

ShortlinesUSA wrote:IF the bond issue is approved by voters?

I suppose anything's possible, but to my knowledge Maine voters have never voted down a bond issue.

Just a question here,
if MMA winds down service and an abandonment gets approved, doesn't the land and RofW revert to either state or local government ownership?

If that is the case why doesn't the state tell MMA to stick it and wait for an abandonment?

KSmitty wrote:if MMA winds down service and an abandonment gets approved, doesn't the land and RofW revert to either state or local government ownership?

It depends, but generally speaking in Maine, it would not go to the state or local government. If the land was purchased in fee, then it belongs to MMA, and MMA would still own the right of way. This was the case with the Medford cut-off. However, if the land was not originally purchased, but was acquired through the purchase of easements, then typically it goes back to the original land owner, or the heirs of the same. This was the case for portions of the right of way of Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad north of the Phillips depot which was originally the Phillips & Rangeley. I suppose in the oddball case where some right of way was acquired by easement from a government, then it would go back to that government.

Ah, thanks for the explanation.

From Railway Age Breaking News

Maine creates oversight group for beleaguered short line
\
Maine Gov. John Baldacci said Tuesday he has created a watchdog group to oversee the proposed abandonment of about 240 miles of right-of-way and possible state purchase of the property.

Baldacci announced the move one day after state legislators in both houses approved a $57.8 million bond package containing $14 million to purchase northern Maine’s last major rail line, operated by Hermon, Maine-based Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway. The measure had sailed through the state House but the state Senate had balked at the proposal, with fiscal conservatives objecting to the potential debt burden passage would place on the state.

“This task force will ensure that [the] abandonment andacquisition process is done openly and in a way that protects the interests of Maine taxpayers,” Baldacci said in a statement Tuesday. “It will also work with the Department of Transportation and other interested parties to develop an operating plan once the railroad is purchased.”

The plan include the creation of a public-private partnership with the state, either MM&A or another carrier, and 22 stakeholders, including some of Maine’s largest manufacturers and businesses, to help acquire federal funding to save rail freight service in northern Maine. On a visit to Bangor, the state capital, earlier this month, FRA Administrator Joseph C. Szabo recommended such a partnership.

PBM

Also of note is that the STB has summoned representatives of the state and MMA to Washington, DC for a mediated session on handling the line's abandonment. This is scheduled to occur on April 22nd. Read more here:

http://www.railwayage.com/breaking-news ... -line.html

This is a Canadian Problem...Canada has the most to lose..The end products go to Canada they should put in the money in the pot

If Maine voters reject this bond issue, and there is no state monies to purchase the MM&A line, would Irving as a last resort step in and purchase the lines under consideration for abandonment with the Eastern Maine Railway running the route? Irving owns much of the forest in Northern Maine and seems to lose the most if the abandonment were to come into fruition.

Gubernatorial candidate Matt Jacobson, who is also the former president of the St. Lawrence & Atlantic, recently criticized the state's plan to buy the abandoned portions of the MMA. I thought it was somewhat hypocritical, considering that the SLR accepted plenty of state money during the time that Mr. Jacobson was running it.

407, Jacobson's position that was expanded on this week is similar to what has been stated here about the MMA as a whole, i.e., bundling in the old CP line: The lines have essentially failed three times in the past. State takeover is not going to change things. He's of the opinion that County shippers should be coughing up the dough to maintain service... in fact, the very issue that ~90% of traffic in/out of the County is trucked (his figure) points to the fact that the shippers have chosen their poison. What can continue to go rail could be trucked to railheads and transloaded.

Not an editorial comment advocating/opposing his position... just an explanation.

Cowford wrote:He's of the opinion that County shippers should be coughing up the dough to maintain service...

And that's what's being proposed, according to the latest reports: the shippers would be contributing approximately $3 million toward the purchase of the line.

Update in today's Portland Press Herald:

The federal Surface Transportation Board has agreed to postpone action on a request to abandon 233 miles of railroad tracks in northern Maine to give the state and the railway time to reach a solution that could keep the line in operation.

The agency said today it will conduct mediation talks between the Maine Department of Transportation and the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway.

More at http://www.pressherald.com/news/Mediati ... -plan.html

For sure most of the freight from northern Maine goes by truck. Do you suppose the lack of service from the last two owners of the railroad had anything to do with this? Hard to imagine that they are losing 4 to 5 million a year on that section of track when they have done very little in repairs and maintainence rather concentrated most of that effort to the Searsport to Canada line. The section crews have been working severly shorthanded and now are required to work overtime without compensation. This was instituted after the owners declared all employes are now considered "supervisors" and as such are salary workers that are not required to be paid overtime. If everything is on the up and up then why have the refused to let government officails look at their books. Ya, something stinks.