In November, CP said it would acquire the 401-mile Central Maine & Quebec, a deal that includes former CP trackage from Montreal to Maine and a link with Irving-owned short lines that reach the Port of Saint John, New Brunswick, via former CP trackage.
Now CEO Keith Creel has hinted that CP would be interested in purchasing its former route to Quebec City as well.
At an investor conference today, Creel was asked if CP would be interested in buying any Genesee & Wyoming short lines. There has been speculation that Brookfield Asset Management, which is acquiring G&W, would spin off some of the shortline holding company’s routes.
“We’ll take a look if Brookfield makes some available,” Creel responded. “There’s one up in Quebec that might make sense for us if it were the right price and the numbers were in the right place.”
Creel did not name the railroad in Quebec, but was likely referring to the 301-mile Quebec Gatineau Railway that G&W acquired from CP in 1997. It links Montreal and Quebec City with the Ottawa, Ontario, area.
A CP spokesman did not immediately return a Trains News Wire email seeking clarification.
The only other G&W property in Quebec is the Saint Lawrence & Atlantic, the former Grand Trunk route from the Montreal area to Portland, Maine. It connects with Canadian National outside of Montreal.
CP would only be interested in purchasing connecting short lines, Creel says.
Creel also said there are former CP routes in the U.S. that the railway may be interested in bringing back into the fold.
None of the potential short line acquisitions would equal the potential of the CM&Q deal, which gives the railroad access to deep water ports at Searsport, Maine, and better access to Saint John, Creel says.
The CM&Q deal is exciting because it will offer shippers a competitive option into Saint John for the first time in 25 years, Creel says.
Saint John is the busiest port in Eastern Canada, Creel notes, and CP’s route across Maine is significantly shorter than CN’s. CP will invest to bring the 25-mph CM&Q up to CP main line standards.
Creel spoke at the seventh annual Credit Suisse Industrials Conference.
