Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway, the Maine-based railroad whose oil train caused a fire and explosion that claimed 47 lives in a small town in Quebec, has filed for chapter 11 protection, the Associated Press reported yesterday. Company Chairman Ed Burkhardt said previously that a bankruptcy filing was likely due to service disruptions because its rail line remains closed in Lac-Megantic, Quebec. The company also faces lawsuits and enormous cleanup costs following the July 6 derailment and disaster in Lac-Megantic. The train with 72 tankers full of crude oil was unattended when it began rolling, eventually tearing into the town. Burkhardt blamed the train's operator for failing to set enough hand brakes.
