There are more than enough opportunities on the PAR system to keep CSX busy. As has been mentioned multiple times, there's a ton of business that moves in and out of the Maritimes and Northern Maine via CP and CN, much of which is almost certain to fall into their lap with little to no effort required. Once the line to Keag is upgraded, I'm sure they will pursue CBR opportunities to Irving at SJ. PAR serves no LPG facilities North of Portland, so I would imagine that getting someone to put a shovel in the ground and build a terminal at a couple of locations along the former MEC will be on their "to do" list. There are also Energy opportunities at the tank farms in Portland (Bio, Ethanol, ULSD, Butane). With vessel prices going through the roof, there is bound to be interest in re-establishing rail served rock salt piles in Maine and/or NH. Down in MA I'm sure they will look to locate more MSW and C&D facilities. This doesn't even include new business with existing Maine mills that will surely come about with single line service and pricing combined with better equipment supply and rail infrastructure. I think import/export port business is not high on their list of things to pursue.
CP has been marketing Searsport heavily ever since the acquisition. It even has its own page on CP's website. (https://eca.cpr.ca/searsport/.) Unfortunately, it seems all this marketing hype has not paid off. I cannot find it now, but I recall comments from Mr. Creel from a few months where he called Searsport "disappointing."
The thought process behind bringing one or two Class Is to Searsport is that it would spur investment in the port. Despite CP's intense marketing, this has not happened, and I don't see why it would change if CSX was brought to town. Many here have rightfully said that Searsport needs investment if it is to be more than a niche port; however, any attempts at past expansion have been blocked, and I don't see this trend changing in the future.
But let's say that Searsport miraculously gets the investment it needs. What happens then? If I recall correctly, only 4-axle locomotives are allowed on the Searsport branch. Not ideal if you want to run long potash and petroleum trains as many predicted CP wanted to do. I've seen recent videos of the Searsport branch under CP and trains usually average 30-35 cars that bounce and sway on the 25 mph track. The track arrangement at Searsport isn't very conducive to unit-train operation either. All of this would have to be fixed.
Not to mention with CPKC looking more and more like a reality, I think CP has bigger issues to tackle than developing this backwater (by comparison) port. The future CPKC is more likely to spend money on the Pacific port of Lorenzo Cardenas, although with the line into the port being blockaded for significant portions of the year, I think Searsport would actually be the better bet.
But that's just my opinion.As for Boston and Portland. Boston is another port that is never going to amount to much beyond what it is now. I don't know enough about Portland to make a proper judgment so I'll defer to others here.
