The company that purchased assets of the railroad responsible for a fiery oil train derailment that killed 47 people in Canada says that it is seeing growth as it rebuilds the business, the Associated Press reported on Saturday. Central Maine and Quebec Railway has nearly doubled its business from June, but it has yet to reach levels achieved before the disaster in Lac Megantic, Quebec, in July 2013, said Ryan Ratledge, chief operating officer. The new railroad already completed $10 million worth of track improvements — mostly in Quebec — that were aimed at improving safety and allowing freight trains that had been slowed to 10 mph in some sections to boost their speeds to 25 mph, he said. Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railways went bankrupt after a train transporting crude oil was left unattended by its solo operator and rolled out of control into Lac Megantic. More than 60 tankers tumbled off the tracks and several exploded. In Lac-Megantic, the focus is on compensating survivors. The environmental cleanup alone could end up costing $200 million to $500 million, based on early estimates.
