The Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway

The Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway (MMA) is a Class II Regional railroad, which has only been in operation since 2003. The MM&A instantly became a large Class II carrier of over 700 miles when it took over the remains of the historic (and bankrupt) Bangor & Aroostook (BAR). The railroad also recognizes its heritage and uses a mirror Bangor & Aroostook logo. Today, the MM&A includes not only the former BAR lines but also operates former shortline trackage from three different companies also threatened with abandonment (three were located in Canada while the other was a U.S. system). In recent years the railroad has come under fire for its abandonment of more than 200 miles of former BAR trackage in Maine that the state has managed to save. Despite this setback the MM&A remains an important transportation artery for the region as it is the largest railroad, along with Pan Am Railways, serving Maine.

The railroad sustained itself on the above mentioned freight traffic for decades, despite a major loss to its potato business in the late 1960s when its interchange partner, the Penn Central, lost an entire season's crop while en-route on its rails. As such, the BAR never recovered this traffic although its timber business kept it in operation for the next four decades. Finally, by the early 200s the railroad said it could no longer turn a profit on the remaining business along its system. As such, the historic Maine company closed down on January 9th, 2003 turning over operations to the new startup, Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway.

The MM&A itself is owned by Rail World, Inc., which at the same time took over three other railroads operated by the Iron Road Railways (at the time it owned the Bangor & Aroostook); the Canadian American Railroad (dates back to 1994 operating former Canadian Atlantic Railway trackage serving Maine as well as Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in Canada), Northern Vermont Railroad (now known as the Washington County Railroad it operates former trackage owned by the Boston & Maine and Canadian Pacific in Vermont), and Quebec Southern Railway (a former Canadian Pacific subsidiary that served Quebec).

Currently, the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway still operates the extreme northern tip of the former BAR between Madawaska, and St. Leonard, New Brunswick (to access the line they have trackage rights over their former line sold to Maine). Additionally, the railroad stretches westward into southern Quebec and extreme northern Vermont serving towns such as Montreal (via trackage rights), Brockport, and Newport (Vermont). Finally, the MM&A has connections with nine Class I, regional and shortline railroads which provide it with not only important outside connections but also interchange traffic for the areas it serves. For more information about the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway please click here (there you can also find a current system map of the railroad). Also, for a further history of the Bangor & Aroostook please click here.

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