Buyers interested in Montreal, Maine & Atlantic

   Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway, the U.S. offshoot of the Canadian railroad that has been in flux since the July derailment of train cars carrying crude oil led to one of the deadliest rail accidents in Canadian history, may soon be sold.
   According to an Associated Press report, the railroad’s trustee has been approached by a number of buyers and says the company could be sold by the end of the year.
   The railroad filed for bankruptcy protection Aug. 7 in the United States just as its parent company received protections in Canada. At the time, Edward Burkhardt, the railroad’s chairman, said the carrier had more obligations than assets “as a direct result of the tragic derailment at Lac-Megantic, Quebec, on July 6, and a process under Chapter 11 and the CCAA is the best way to ensure fairness of treatment to all in these tragic circumstances.” A few days later, the railroad officially lost its Canadian operating license.
   For more details, read American Shipper‘s September issue article “Hot on oil trains,” pages 46-49. – Jon Ross