FARMINGTON — From his motorized wheelchair parked on a lawn lining High Street, Gene Bell proudly watched Saturday morning’s two-hour procession of firefighters and fire apparatus from across Maine and Lac-Megantic, Quebec. It was the annual parade of the 51st Maine State Federation of Firefighters Convention, which Farmington is hosting this weekend. It drew hundreds […]
Lac-Megantic
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Canadian government releases report on 2013 Lac-Megantic derailment
Animation — Sequence of events in the Lac-Mégantic derailment and fire “This was a company with a weak safety process,” said board chairman Wendy Tadros. “A company that did what it took to get the job done.” But the report released Tuesday with a press conference in Lac-Mégantic, where the accident occurred, also found fault […]
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Posted inNation / World, sj-web
3 employees, railway company face charges in Quebec runaway oil train disaster that killed 47
TORONTO — Three employees and the railway company involved in last summer’s massive explosion of a runaway oil train that incinerated much of a small town in Quebec, killing 47 people, will face criminal negligence charges, provincial prosecutors announced late Monday. The charges come about 10 months after more than 60 of the tankers carrying […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Oil companies and railroads spar over changing rail safety standards
AUGUSTA — Ever since a crude oil train disaster decimated a Quebec village’s downtown last July, Maine fire departments have been requesting training on rail safety. “I’m booking right now straight into November,” said Richard Towle, who coordinates such training as a law enforcement liaison for the Federal Rail Administration. The catastrophe at Lac-Mégantic took […]
Posted inFranklin, The Franklin Journal
Rangeley fire chief to testify in D.C. on Lac-Megantic tragedy
The chaos and fire were unlike anything Tim Pellerin had seen in his 34-year career. After making the two-hour drive in July 2013 to help devastated Lac-Megantic, Quebec, following a major crude-oil train derailment there, the Rangeley Fire Department and other Western Maine crews found almost no one else on scene who spoke English. Their […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
New owner, new name: MMA to become the Central Maine and Quebec Railway
HERMON — Once the sale of the bankrupt Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway is complete, that name will be filed away in the history books. Railroad Acquisition Holdings, the affiliate of New York-based investment firm Fortress Investment Group that is in the process of buying Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway out of bankruptcy, will change […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Quebec derailment victims ask for Mitchell as negotiator
AUGUSTA — Some victims of last year’s fiery train derailment in Canada want U.S. Sen. George Mitchell from Maine to serve as negotiator as they seek money from the bankrupt railroad company. A document filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Count in Bangor late Wednesday from the Meyers & Flowers law firm shows that the victims […]
Posted inBusiness, Maine, sj-web
Wrongful death claimants in Lac-Megantic disaster want George Mitchell to oversee allocation of railroad’s funds
BANGOR — A Chicago law firm on Wednesday filed a proposal that would appoint former U.S. Sen. George J. Mitchell to oversee the allocation of available funds in the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway’s bankruptcy case to the victims who have filed wrongful death and personal injury claims. The firm Meyers & Flowers filed the […]
Posted inBusiness, Maine, sj-web
After bankruptcy sale, what’s next for beleaguered Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway?
The sale of the bankrupt Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway is all but certain at this point, but the buyer — Fortress Investment Group — remains mum on its reasons for wanting to acquire the bankrupt railroad or its future plans. While Fortress may not be talking, the Bangor Daily News is able to piece […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Maine railroad in deadly Canada derailment sold
Railroad Acquisitions LLC, a subsidiary of Fortress Investment Group, won the closed-door bidding for Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway, according to one of the losing bidders. The winning bid goes before a U.S. bankruptcy judge in Maine and a Superior Court judge in Quebec on Thursday. The Fortress subsidiary had submitted a bid of $14.25 […]