MMA To File 241 Mile Abandonment With STB

Am I missing something? The article states the money is being given to the Maine DOT. If they are wise, which I hope they are, they won't spend a dime of that money until the purchase negotiations with MMA are completed. But based on a limited read, it does not look like there is any direct flow of money to the MMA at this point in time from what I took away from the article.

This may well be the feds giving the state a "bank account" to fix up the line if they do in fact wind up the owner...

Good point, SUSA... I suppose I jumped to a conclusion based on the absense of any mention of the line sale in the article. I'd imagine if administered as a grant to MMA, it would relieve pressure on MMA to sell... and if they call off the dogs, the state would breath a sigh of relief as the problem would resolve itself (for now) with only the expenditure of federal monies.

Looks like it's official:

Portland Press Herald wrote:The state has reached an agreement to purchase 233 miles of track in Aroostook and Penobscot counties from the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway, Gov. John Baldacci's office is reporting today.
...
The agreement concludes more than a year of negotiations between the state and the railway. It calls for a purchase price of $20.1 million in cash for the rail line from Millinocket to Madawaska and branch lines to Caribou, Presque Isle, Easton, Houlton and Limestone.

Read more at: http://www.pressherald.com/news/montrea ... chase.html

according to the news the state of maine has purchased the now former MMA line between millinocket and madawaska or van buren and the branch lines for just above 20 million dollars which will keep the line in operation. im not sure who will maintain the line but the state plans on installing new rail in some places of that line

Looks like PAR got shut out as far as having a direct interchange with the new operator, which I'm sure is music to the MMA's ears. I guess they could still route to the PAR via NBSR from Brownville to Keag, but that adds another carrier into the mix.

roberttosh wrote:Looks like PAR got shut out as far as having a direct interchange with the new operator, which I'm sure is music to the MMA's ears. I guess they could still route to the PAR via NBSR from Brownville to Keag, but that adds another carrier into the mix.

Unless, of course, the new operator happens to be EMRY/NBSR. Hmmm....

ShortlinesUSA wrote:

roberttosh wrote:Looks like PAR got shut out as far as having a direct interchange with the new operator, which I'm sure is music to the MMA's ears. I guess they could still route to the PAR via NBSR from Brownville to Keag, but that adds another carrier into the mix.

Unless, of course, the new operator happens to be EMRY/NBSR. Hmmm....

Excellent point indeed!!

Not surprisingly, Eastern Maine Railway (the U.S. subsidiary of New Brunswick Southern Railway) is expressing an interest in operating the soon-to-be state-owned tracks:

New Brunswick Business Journal wrote:Irving-owned Eastern Maine Railway Co. Ltd. is looking at the idea of operating a key rail line in Maine that the state saved from abandonment by its owner earlier this week.

Eastern Maine Railway - the U.S. affiliate of NB Southern Railway - spokeswoman Mary Keith said Thursday the company is interested in reviewing and possibly participating in the call for operators that the state has put out.

Read more at: http://nbbusinessjournal.canadaeast.com ... le/1273725


Thanks to John Joyce for the link.

In today's Portland Press Herald:

Portland Press Herald wrote:The Federal Railroad Administration has cleared all legal hurdles for the state to take ownership of 233 miles of rail in northern Maine.

Read more at: http://www.pressherald.com/news/Maine-c ... rail-.html

It's official -- Eastern Maine Railway (d/b/a New Brunswick Southern) will be the new operator of the ex-MMA lines now owned by the state.

MPBN wrote:The Maine Department of Transportation says a five-member panel chose Eastern Maine Railroad, a subsidiary of Irving, Limited, to operate the line, now known as the Aroostook Lines.

Read more at: http://www.mpbn.net/Home/tabid/36/ctl/V ... fault.aspx

And also:

http://www.pressherald.com/news/Operato ... line-.html

Rail shippers are optimistic about the new operator:

Bangor Daily News wrote:Fourteen of the 22 major manufacturers along those tracks, most of which run from Madawaska to Millinocket, met the five candidates who competed to be the line’s operator before telling Maine Department of Transportation officials that Eastern Maine Railway was their favorite candidate, said DOT rail director Nate Moulton.

Read more at: http://new.bangordailynews.com/2011/04/ ... ref=latest

Op-ed piece in the Bangor Daily News:

Bangor Daily News wrote:But low and behold, just two years later, the bold policy move and the willingness to invest in northern Maine and its people is paying off.

In 2011, the Maine Northern Railway was resurrected from the ashes of the almost-abandoned Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway.
...
Speaking in Presque Isle last week, Maine Department of Transportation Commissioner David Bernhardt said that traffic on the line had tripled and that Irving was making investments that the line hadn’t seen in the past.

And the efficiency of the line has increased. “What took seven weeks now takes about 36 hours,” Bernhardt said.

Nate Moulton, who directs the rail program for the Department of Transportation, told MPBN last week that in addition to work being created by repairs on the track, the railway itself has grown from 35 employees to more than 60, with more expected to come.

Read more at: http://davidfarmer.bangordailynews.com/ ... logswidget