B.C.D. 03-33

EMPLOYER STATUS DETERMINATION 

Bangor & Aroostook Railroad Company 

Canadian American Railroad Company

Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway, LTD

APR 0 3 2003

This is the determination ofthe Railroad Retirement Board concerning the 

continuing status ofBangor & Aroostock Railroad Company (BAR) (B.A. No.

1101) and Canadian American Railroad Company (CDAC) (B.A. No. 2127) as

employers under the Railroad Retirement Act (45 U.S.C. § 231, et seep) (RRA) and

the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (45 U.S.C. § 351, et seep) (RUIA).

BAR and CDAC have been employers under the RRA and RUIA with service 

creditable from February 13, 1891 (BAR) and January 1, 1995 (CDAC),

respectively. This is also the determination ofthe Railroad Retirement Board 

concerning the status ofMontreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway, LTD (MMA) as an

employer under the RRA and RUIA. MMA has not heretofore been ruled to be an

employer under the Acts.

BAR and CDAC are joint debtors in Chapter 11 proceedings before the United 

States Bankruptcy Court for the District ofMaine. Mr. James E. Howard, Chapter

11 Trustee, has advised that as ofJanuary 8, 2003, all ofthe operating assets of

BAR and CDAC were sold and the employees of both companies were last 

compensated and terminated as ofthat date. MMA purchased substantially all of

the assets ofBAR and CDAC on January 8, 2003.

Although BAR and CDAC are not yet dissolved as business organizations, it is

clear that their character as railroads no longer exists inasmuch as all oftheir

railroad assets have been liquidated.

Section 202.11 ofthe Board’s regulations provides that:

The employer status of any company or person shall terminate

whenever such company or person loses any ofthe characteristics 

essential to the existence of an employer status.

Based on the information set forth above, it is the determination ofthe

Railroad Retirement Board that both Bangor & Aroostock Railroad 

Company and Canadian American Railroad Company ceased being

employers under the RRA and RUIA on January 8, 2003, the date on which

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BA#2127
Bangor & Aroostook Railroad Company 

Canadian American Railroad Company 

Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway, LTD

employees were last compensated and substantially all assets were sold to

Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway, LTD.

MMA began operations and first compensated employees on January 9,

2003, pursuant to the exemption to acquire and operate certain rail lines 

which the Surface Transportation Board (STB) granted on September 11,

2002 in Finance Docket No. 34110. MMA operates on approximately 475

miles oftrack in the United States and Canada with terminal points in

Vermont, Maine and the Province of Quebec. MMA interchanges with

Canadian National Railway, Eastern Maine Railway, Canadian Pacific

Railway, Springfield Terminal Railroad, Washington County Railroad, all in

the United States, and with Quebec Central Railway in Canada.

Section 1(a)(1) of the Railroad Retirement Act (45 U.S.C. §

231(a)(1)), insofar as relevant here, defines a covered employer 

as-

(i) any carrier by railroad subject to the jurisdiction of

the Surface Transportation Board under Part A of subtitle

IV of Title 49 [45 U.S.C. § 231 (a)(l)(i)].

Sections 1(a) and l(b) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance

Act (45 U.S.C. §§ 351(a) and (b)) contain substantially the same

definition, as does section 3231 of the Railroad Retirement Tax

Act (26 U.S.C. § 3231).

Based on the information summarized above, it is determined

that Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway, LTD became an

employer under the Railroad Retirement Act and the Railroad
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Bangor & Aroostock Railroad Company

Canadian American Railroad Company 

Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway, LTD

Unemployment Insurance Act on January 9, 2003, the date it

began operations.

H/im,

V. M. Speakman, Jr.