Canadian Pacific’s acquisition of the Central Maine & Quebec Railway (CM&Q) was approved by the federal Surface Transportation Board (STB) on May 1, and will take effect June 18, 2020.
The purchase from Fortress Transportation and Infrastructure Investors LLC, officially by the wholly owned Soo Line subsidiary of CP, was originally announced Nov. 20, 2019, and with approval now gives the Class I carrier trackage and facilities running from St. Jean, Quebec, Canada, to Searsport, Maine.
In a filing with the STB, CP said it plans to upgrade CM&Q’s system to Class III standards with an investment of up to $75 million. STB members had no objections to the acquisition and dismissed comments and conditional requests by Springfield Terminal Railway Company, among others.
CM&Q owns approximately 244 miles of rail lines in Vermont and Maine and has operating rights across another 57 miles, according to the STB. The Canadian portion of CM&Q has about 237 miles of track which also will be transferred in the sale.
SMART Transportation Division represents 52 members on the CM&Q in the Transportation, Mechanical and Engineering Departments who belong to GO-049, which is represented by General Chairman Rick Lee.
Read the STB’s decision.

Just before the start of the new year, deals that resulted in the Genesee & Wyoming (G&W) and the Central Maine & Quebec (CM&Q) changing hands were finalized.
The Surface Transportation Board in November cleared the way for Brookfield Asset Management and GIC, a Singapore wealth fund, to acquire Genesee & Wyoming, which controls Class II and III railroads in 41 states and, if considered collectively, has holdings that qualify it as a Class I carrier with more than 13,000 track miles.
A review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) permitted the acquisition to be finalized, and completion of the deal was announced Dec. 31. G&W is now a private entity and its stock is no longer traded publicly.
In the case of Canadian Pacific’s acquisition of CM&Q, the federal Surface Transportation Board still must sign off on the deal, which was announced Nov. 20, to make it official. Financial terms were finalized on Dec. 30, CP announced.
Once approved by the STB, CP’s purchase from Fortress Transportation and Infrastructure Investors LLC would give the Class I carrier trackage and facilities from St. Jean, Quebec, Canada, to Searsport, Maine.
SMART Transportation Division represents 52 members on the CM&Q in the Transportation, Mechanical and Engineering Departments who belong to GO-049, which is represented by General Chairman Rick Lee. CM&Q owns 481 miles of rail lines primarily in Quebec and Maine.

Canadian Pacific announced Wednesday, Nov. 20 that it has come to an agreement that would result in the Class I carrier acquiring the Central Maine & Quebec Railway (CM&Q).
Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed in a news release announcing the deal.
CP’s purchase from Fortress Transportation and Infrastructure Investors LLC now gives the carrier trackage and facilities from St. Jean, Quebec, Canada, to Searsport, Maine, and is expected to close by the end of the year.
SMART Transportation Division represents 52 members on the CM&Q in the Transportation, Mechanical and Engineering Departments who belong to GO-049, which is represented by General Chairman Rick Lee. CM&Q owns 481 miles of rail lines primarily in Quebec and Maine.
Read the full release from PR Newswire.

Central Maine and Quebec railwayIn a letter dated Dec. 5, the National Mediation Board (NMB) certified the SMART Transportation Division as the official union of the train and engine service employees of the Central Maine & Quebec Railway (CMQR).

SMART TD invoked the services of the NMB Aug. 12, 2015, to investigate and determine who may represent the train and engine service employees of CMQR. These employees were previously unrepresented by a union.

NMB Investigator Cristina Bonaca held an election and out of the total 11 eligible employees, 10 voted for SMART TD representation, while one employee opted not to vote. Due to these results, Bonaca certified that SMART is the designated labor union and is authorized to represent CMQR train and engine service employees.

“Every department on this railroad that voted for representation: the carmen, maintenance of way, machinists, conductors and engineers bravely stood together and have chosen SMART TD as their representative. They believe that there is strength in numbers,” said SMART TD Organizer Larry Grutzius. “I was glad to be a part of their effort and to see how strongly these new members feel about taking the steps to gain fair compensation for their labor.”

“I’d like to thank Larry Grutzius for all the time and effort he put into winning this campaign,” Director of Organizing Rich Ross said. “We are looking forward to working with our brothers and sister on CMQR to help improve working conditions and their quality of life on the railroad.”

Central Maine and Quebec railwaySMART Transportation Division Director of Organizing Rich Ross reports that non-operating employees of Central Maine & Quebec Railway (CMQ) located in Hermon, Maine, have voted in overwhelming favor of representation by the SMART Transportation Division.

The National Mediation Board certified the election results October 28, 2015. “I would like to thank SMART TD Organizer Larry Grutzius (Local 1895 – Chicago) for all of his hard work in this campaign,” Ross said.

 CMQ is a Class III freight railroad responsible for car repair, car storage and switching services in the states of Maine and Vermont. The non-operating employees build and repair track and track infrastructure, repair and inspect freight cars and locomotives. CMQ operates 220 miles of track in Maine and 23 miles in Vermont. The railway is owned by Railroad Acquisition Holdings, LLC.