A runaway Montreal, Maine & Atlantic train with five locomotives and 75 loaded DOT-111 tank cars carrying volatile Bakken crude rolled into Lac-Mégantic and derailed on July 13, 2013. Much of the city center was destroyed and some 2,000 people were evacuated.
The government of Canada on May 11, 2018, confirmed that it would fund 60% of the construction costs of the new Lac-Mégantic rail bypass, estimated at C$133 million at the time. The government of Quebec confirmed that it would fund 40% of that amount. The project will be managed by Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC). The Class I railroad will also own the bypass. Canadian Pacific, which merged with Kansas City Southern in 2023 to form CPKC, acquired the Central Maine & Quebec Railway (formerly the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic) in December 2019.
“Following extensive environmental consultations, Transport Canada and the rail operator [CPKC] reached a key milestone with the submission of the application to the CTA,” the government reported Sept. 20. The application includes environmental studies, consultation reports, as well as a well monitoring plan. These documents will be made available online as part of the public consultation process, which will be launched shortly, according to the government.
The project’s application was filed with the CTA in accordance with section 98 of the Canada Transportation Act. “This section states that, on application by the railway company, the CTA may grant approval to construct a railway line if it considers that the location of the railway line is reasonable, taking into consideration requirements for railway operations and services and the interests of the localities that will be affected by the line,” the government of Canada said. “To help determine whether a location is reasonable, the CTA takes into consideration the views of the communities, individuals and groups that will be affected by the railway line. The application submitted to the CTA for approval includes numerous mitigation measures to minimize the project’s impacts on the community and environment. Transport Canada and the rail operator have added environmental mitigation measures that were presented at the public consultation on hydrogeological [the study of the distribution and movement of water both on and below the Earth’s surface, as well as the impact of human activity on water availability and conditions] in the fall of 2022.”
The selected route for the bypass project “removes the rail right-of-way from downtown Lac-Mégantic and reduces the number of buildings near the railway,” according to the government (see map, top, and watch video, below). It was recognized “as the most advantageous one by the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement du Québec (BAPE) and as having the least impact on agricultural land by the Commission de protection du territoire agricole du Québec (CPTAQ),” according to the government.
The bypass project will establish two yard tracks in the Lac-Mégantic industrial park to allow rail operations from Nantes and Frontenac to be relocated to that location, “thereby maximizing rail safety,” according to the government, which noted that this component was announced by the Minister of Transport in 2019, and is in response to the request from the mayors and the community of Lac-Mégantic.
Construction of the bypass will begin once all regulatory approvals have been obtained, including from the CTA. The government said it “maintains an open dialogue and is working with all stakeholders to complete this project.”
“We will remove the railroad tracks from downtown Lac-Mégantic,” said Steven MacKinnon, Minister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons. “The bypass project is becoming increasingly concrete now that the project’s application was officially submitted to CTA. All the information required to assess the project and start the public consultation process is now available to the CTA. We will be ready to go as soon as the application is approved by the CTA.”
The Coalition des Victimes Collatérales (CVC) on Sept. 22 reported issuing an open letter to Steven MacKinnon opposing the proposed Lac-Mégantic rail bypass. The group said “the project lacks social acceptability, with strong opposition from local citizens and municipalities.” According to CVC, “the bypass fails to improve rail safety and instead increases risks, including higher derailment probability, faster train speeds, and significant threats to drinking water.” Additionally, CVS said the letter “highlights irreversible environmental damage—destruction of wetlands, forests, and streams. It also denounces ballooning costs, which have grown from [C]$133 million in 2019 to over [C]$1 billion in 2025.” CVC said it “demands that Transport Canada immediately suspend the project, commission an independent safety and environmental review, and consider safer, less destructive alternatives.”
Further Reading:
- Report: Quebec Court of Appeal Upholds Ruling That CP Was ‘Not Liable’ for Lac-Mégantic Disaster
- Two Essential Agreements Signed for Lac-Mégantic Rail Bypass
- Lac-Mégantic Bypass Project Proving Problematic
- Lac-Mégantic Bypass Work Continues
- Bypass Build Slated for Lac-Mégantic
- New rail line to bypass Lac-Mégantic center
- Railroad won’t face criminal charges in Lac-Mégantic disaster
