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Maine Northern Railway
The Maine Northern Railway Company Limited (reporting mark MNRY) is a 258 mi (415 km) U.S. and Canadian short line railroad owned by the New Brunswick Railway Company, a holding company that is part of "Irving Transportation Services", a division within the industrial conglomerate J.D. Irving Limited.
MNRY operates over tracks that were originally built for the Bangor & Aroostook Railroad (reporting mark BAR) but were most recently owned and operated by the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway (reporting mark MMA). Approximately 233 mi (375 km) of MNRY's route is owned by the government of the state of Maine while the remaining 25 mi (40 km) is owned by MNRY outright, including the tracks in Canada.
MNRY has two sister companies, the New Brunswick Southern Railway (reporting mark NBSR) and Eastern Maine Railway (reporting mark EMRY) which operate a continuous 189.5 mi (305.0 km) main line connecting Saint John, New Brunswick with Brownville Junction, Maine in addition to another 41.7 mi (67.1 km) of branch lines owned and operated by NBSR in Canada.
In early February 2010, the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway filed a "notice of intent" with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) 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 mainline, which had been bought by the MMA in 2003.
Affected lines were located in Penobscot and Aroostook counties and included track serving Houlton, Presque Isle, Caribou and Fort Kent. MMA lines between Millinocket and Brownville Junction, Brownville Junction and St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Brownville Junction and Searsport, and Madawaska to Van Buren were not included in this application.
According to the MMA, losses from operating the lines between Millinocket and Madawaska had reached the point where they were threatening the financial health of the entire railroad. The STB subsequently postponed action on the request in late April, after the railroad and officials with the state of Maine 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 and southern Maine.
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 when the deal was closed. The US government also issued $10.5 million in funds to upgrade and maintain the line. Part of this agreement saw the state of Maine being granted trackage rights over the MMA's remaining tracks between Brownville Junction, Maine and the state-owned tracks beginning near Millinocket, Maine which would be used by any successful contracting rail operator.
On 17 December 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 19 January 2011. On 28 December 2010, the STB announced it had approved the abandonment of the tracks in question, allowing the state to purchase them.
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Maine Northern Railway
The Maine Northern Railway Company Limited (reporting mark MNRY) is a 258 mi (415 km) U.S. and Canadian short line railroad owned by the New Brunswick Railway Company, a holding company that is part of "Irving Transportation Services", a division within the industrial conglomerate J.D. Irving Limited.
MNRY operates over tracks that were originally built for the Bangor & Aroostook Railroad (reporting mark BAR) but were most recently owned and operated by the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway (reporting mark MMA). Approximately 233 mi (375 km) of MNRY's route is owned by the government of the state of Maine while the remaining 25 mi (40 km) is owned by MNRY outright, including the tracks in Canada.
MNRY has two sister companies, the New Brunswick Southern Railway (reporting mark NBSR) and Eastern Maine Railway (reporting mark EMRY) which operate a continuous 189.5 mi (305.0 km) main line connecting Saint John, New Brunswick with Brownville Junction, Maine in addition to another 41.7 mi (67.1 km) of branch lines owned and operated by NBSR in Canada.
In early February 2010, the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway filed a "notice of intent" with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) 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 mainline, which had been bought by the MMA in 2003.
Affected lines were located in Penobscot and Aroostook counties and included track serving Houlton, Presque Isle, Caribou and Fort Kent. MMA lines between Millinocket and Brownville Junction, Brownville Junction and St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Brownville Junction and Searsport, and Madawaska to Van Buren were not included in this application.
According to the MMA, losses from operating the lines between Millinocket and Madawaska had reached the point where they were threatening the financial health of the entire railroad. The STB subsequently postponed action on the request in late April, after the railroad and officials with the state of Maine 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 and southern Maine.
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 when the deal was closed. The US government also issued $10.5 million in funds to upgrade and maintain the line. Part of this agreement saw the state of Maine being granted trackage rights over the MMA's remaining tracks between Brownville Junction, Maine and the state-owned tracks beginning near Millinocket, Maine which would be used by any successful contracting rail operator.
On 17 December 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 19 January 2011. On 28 December 2010, the STB announced it had approved the abandonment of the tracks in question, allowing the state to purchase them.