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Portland, Maine — A bankruptcy judge on Thursday morning will consider approval of the bankruptcy reorganization plan for the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway.

The railroad was responsible for an oil train derailment in 2013 that killed 48 people, leveled the downtown of Lac-Megantic, Quebec, and became a flashpoint for regulators in the United States and Canada to issue new safety standards for trains carrying flammable fuels.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Peter Cary began hearing motions to confirm the liquidation plan for the railroad at 9 a.m., first dealing with a motion from Canadian Pacific Railway requesting unredacted settlement agreements between the bankruptcy estate and 24 other parties.

Read more from bangordailynews.com.

The following conversations took place on July 5 and 6, 2013, on the night of the devastating derailment in Lac-Mégantic. They were between railway engineer Tom Harding and company offices in Farnham, Que., and Maine.

The transcripts, which are based on audio recordings of MM&A’s rail-traffic control communications, provide new insight into Mr. Harding’s actions before the derailment, as well as the uncertainty and panic that took hold in the chaotic hours after the crash.

Read the complete story at The Globe and Mail.

Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Ltd, the railway involved in last month’s deadly derailment and explosion in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, filed for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday, saying the move would enable the company to preserve the value of its assets.

The railway said it lost much of its freight business following the July 6 disaster, which killed 47 people and devastated the town of Lac-Megantic.

Read the complete story at NBC News.

The oil industry and U.S railroads are resisting the Obama administration’s attempt to boost safety standards for the type of rail car involved in a fiery, fatal explosion in Canada, citing costs and technical challenges.

Industry groups say it is impractical to retrofit tens of thousands of existing tank cars used to haul oil, even as they have adopted voluntary standards to ensure that cars ordered after October 2011 meet tough requirements recommended by federal transportation experts following a deadly ethanol train derailment and explosion in Illinois two years earlier.

Read the complete story at madison.com.

FARNHAM, Quebec — Locomotive engineer Tom Harding was likely the last person at the controls of the runaway train that rolled into downtown Lac-Mégantic Saturday morning, causing untold death and destruction.

But though Harding himself has remained silent, a new picture is emerging of the Farnham man as a hero, whose bravery may have prevented an even greater catastrophe from engulfing the small town about 200 kilometres down the track.

Read the complete story at The Montreal Gazette.

A team from the Federal Railroad Administration is expected to arrive in Maine on Thursday to begin a comprehensive inspection of the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway’s tracks, operations and equipment.

If inspectors find safety problems on the 275 miles of track owned by the company in Maine, they can order the company to make repairs.

Read the complete story at KJOnline.com.