Sale of railroad blamed in Lac-Mgantic disaster finalized

The sale of the Maine-based railroad blamed for a deadly oil train derailment in Lac-Mgantichas been completed 10 months after the disaster that claimed 47 lives.

Chapter 11 trustee Robert Keach said the parties closed Thursday on the $15.85 million sale of bankrupt Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway. A separate, parallel Canadian proceeding will be completed at a later date.

Proceeds from the sale will help pay off creditors.

The railway buyer, a subsidiary of New York-based Fortress Investment Group, is changing the railroad's name to Central Maine and Quebec Railway. It has no plans to resume oil shipments by train.

The derailment last summer in Lac-Mgantic was the worst railway accident in Canada in nearly 150 years. It led to calls for making oil trains safer across North America.