Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway Files for Bankruptcy After Crash

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Last edited Fri Aug 9, 2013, 12:31 PM - Edit history (1)

Montreal Maine Railway Files for Bankruptcy After Crash
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-07/montreal-maine-railway-files-for-bankruptcy-after-crash.html

By David McLaughlin, Frederic Tomesco & Tiffany Kary - Aug 8, 2013 3:31 PM ET

Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway Ltd., the operator of the runaway oil train that exploded and killed 47 people in a Quebec town, said it was forced to file for bankruptcy because of potential liability from the crash.

Service will continue during the restructuring, the carrier said after yesterday’s filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Bangor, Maine. An affiliated company, Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Canada Co., filed a petition in Canada, where the accident marked the country’s worst rail disaster since 1910.

Those moves were foreshadowed by Chairman Edward Burkhardt, who signaled last month that the railroad’s viability was in question. A criminal probe by Quebec authorities is under way, the town of Lac-Megantic is seeking financial aid to restore the gutted community and a civil complaint alleges a failure to take steps to prevent the derailment.
....

Claims from the disaster are “sufficiently large that it would be impossible or impractical to continue as a going concern without the protection” of U.S. bankruptcy law, Montreal, Maine & Atlantic railroad said in its filing.

There's a discussion at Trainorders too:

Who had August 7 in the Day MMA files bankruptcy pool?
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?15,3149045