Railroad Involved in Quebec Crash Expects to Win Approval to Keep Operating

The Canadian railroad involved with last month’s railcar crash in Quebec that killed 47 people said it expects to win approval to keep operating, Bloomberg News reported.

Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway’s operating certificate was suspended after the Canadian Transportation Agency said the railroad lacked sufficient liability coverage in the wake of the July 6 crash of railcars loaded with crude oil in Lac-Megantic.

Lawyers for the railroad will ask a Quebec bankruptcy judge to “put a charge” on the company’s Canadian assets to reserve some of its assets for creditors, allowing the company to continue operating, Bloomberg reported.

Company Chairman Ed Burkhardt told Bloomberg he would shut down the railroad “rather quickly” if the judge denies the company’s request to keep operating.