Perhaps it would be appropriate to have a review, omitting the recent tragic events, of the MMA and highlight. My goal here is to remain largely positive in looking forward to some of the continued progress the next company will hopefully make.
1.) Restructuring -- While some may argue about the railroads decision to abandon the lines north of Millinocket, this had been discussed many years prior but previous companies. While I will not argue the merrits or losses of getting rid of the line, successfully abondoning almost half of your railroad is an accomplishment as at the end of the day, everyone benefitted (MNR is a pretty good line now, MMA made some money to pay down debt, State of Maine happy that customers are served & vice versa).
2.) Cost Reduction -- This can be a bit touchy, I'll admit. From a professional business perspective, the goal is always to make processes more efficient or what we like to call lean engineering (I'm sure you've heard it before). While it does usually mean the cutting of jobs (Never an easy decision), it can gain a net benefit for the entire system and the customers. Perhaps in this analysis of the MMA, it can go either way, but I would like to stay largely positive and say that it helped keep the system running even after the near sell out of 2010.
3.) Traffic -- The MMA was always seeking new traffic for the Moosehead and the oil traffic reflected this. The MMA had been approached by Irving and a broker, but still, their ability to keep up with new trends does lend a view on their survival ability. Enough about that, we all know where the oil discussion goes. Moreover, intermodal and auto traffic were at one point key parts of the MMA system. The 'Sunbury Train' suffered a tragic fate of the FDA and CBP but not without fight. Had the train continued, one could have hoped that it would grown and perhaps been combined with the auto traffic (Which had been known to happen from time to time). The Auto traffic on the other hand did grow with the help of NBSR building a distribution terminal in Saint John. Before they had just exported the autos at the port. A new contract with KIA a few years ago also bolstered this traffic that kept volume on the Moosehead. Hopefully the next suitor can revive auto and intermodal traffic on the Moosehead as with Saint John offering MSC and now Haypag-LLyod via Tropical, TEUs have doubled this year since last. Coupled with an expanding Potash terminal in Saint John, someone who more marketing power could potentially steal some traffic away from CN.
4.) Infrastructure -- Perhaps one of the greatest tributes was the ability to keep the infrastructure up and going after the challenges of CDAC. A long of these challenges stem from the CP era where they knew the Moosehead was on the chop block and elected to relay 100LB headless stick rail from Praire branchs on the Moosehead. Needless to say, the geometery of the Moosehead didn't help CDAC on this regard. The MMA was proactive from the start on replacing rail and took out a $34M loan from the FRA to do so. They laid a good portion of 115LB welded rail on areas in need, as well as some 115LB relay. Even after the oil boom they resumed rail upgrades with new ribbon rail recently being laid in Foster, QC. The railroad wasn't always the richest, but they were able to keep the trains moving and had many plans to upgrade the entire Moosehead.
Like I said, there are two sides to each story, but my goal here to remain largely positive. While looking back may reflect negative feelings for some, there is a simple solution to that in regards to this discussion -- don't post! We now can only look forward on the new railroad to be and hope for growth and prosperty of that new railroad to support the hard working people of the railroad as well as economic growth in the State of Maine.
1.) Restructuring -- While some may argue about the railroads decision to abandon the lines north of Millinocket, this had been discussed many years prior but previous companies. While I will not argue the merrits or losses of getting rid of the line, successfully abondoning almost half of your railroad is an accomplishment as at the end of the day, everyone benefitted (MNR is a pretty good line now, MMA made some money to pay down debt, State of Maine happy that customers are served & vice versa).
2.) Cost Reduction -- This can be a bit touchy, I'll admit. From a professional business perspective, the goal is always to make processes more efficient or what we like to call lean engineering (I'm sure you've heard it before). While it does usually mean the cutting of jobs (Never an easy decision), it can gain a net benefit for the entire system and the customers. Perhaps in this analysis of the MMA, it can go either way, but I would like to stay largely positive and say that it helped keep the system running even after the near sell out of 2010.
3.) Traffic -- The MMA was always seeking new traffic for the Moosehead and the oil traffic reflected this. The MMA had been approached by Irving and a broker, but still, their ability to keep up with new trends does lend a view on their survival ability. Enough about that, we all know where the oil discussion goes. Moreover, intermodal and auto traffic were at one point key parts of the MMA system. The 'Sunbury Train' suffered a tragic fate of the FDA and CBP but not without fight. Had the train continued, one could have hoped that it would grown and perhaps been combined with the auto traffic (Which had been known to happen from time to time). The Auto traffic on the other hand did grow with the help of NBSR building a distribution terminal in Saint John. Before they had just exported the autos at the port. A new contract with KIA a few years ago also bolstered this traffic that kept volume on the Moosehead. Hopefully the next suitor can revive auto and intermodal traffic on the Moosehead as with Saint John offering MSC and now Haypag-LLyod via Tropical, TEUs have doubled this year since last. Coupled with an expanding Potash terminal in Saint John, someone who more marketing power could potentially steal some traffic away from CN.
4.) Infrastructure -- Perhaps one of the greatest tributes was the ability to keep the infrastructure up and going after the challenges of CDAC. A long of these challenges stem from the CP era where they knew the Moosehead was on the chop block and elected to relay 100LB headless stick rail from Praire branchs on the Moosehead. Needless to say, the geometery of the Moosehead didn't help CDAC on this regard. The MMA was proactive from the start on replacing rail and took out a $34M loan from the FRA to do so. They laid a good portion of 115LB welded rail on areas in need, as well as some 115LB relay. Even after the oil boom they resumed rail upgrades with new ribbon rail recently being laid in Foster, QC. The railroad wasn't always the richest, but they were able to keep the trains moving and had many plans to upgrade the entire Moosehead.
Like I said, there are two sides to each story, but my goal here to remain largely positive. While looking back may reflect negative feelings for some, there is a simple solution to that in regards to this discussion -- don't post! We now can only look forward on the new railroad to be and hope for growth and prosperty of that new railroad to support the hard working people of the railroad as well as economic growth in the State of Maine.
