WHAT GOOD IS A TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD THAT COMES UP A SMALL PROVINCE SHORT OF THE COAST?

None, and Canadian Pacific apparently finally figured that out.

Some background: once upon a time, Canadian Pacific ran from coast to coast, and its easternmost ports were Saint John, in New Brunswick, with a carferry operation across the Bay of Fundy to Nova Scotia.  (The all-rail passenger service from Boston to Halifax used Canadian National metals to the east of Saint John.)

Evidently, the eastern end of the railroad wasn't performing up to the standards headquarters wanted, and the lines east of Montreal were sold off to various operators, including most notoriously the Montreal, Maine, and Atlantic that the whole world heard about when a crew failed to properly secure a tank train, and the resulting runaway, derailment, explosion, and fire lead to massive loss of life in Lac-Megantic, Quebec.

Canadian Pacific again own some trackage east of Montreal, and their intermodal trains are exchanging containers with the ships at Saint John.

The inaugural train carries containers from the Hapag-Lloyd vessel Detroit Express bound for intermodal terminals on the CP network in Canada and the U.S.

"The new Port of Saint John service offers shippers a compelling value: a congestion-free port with a world-class operator, matched with CP's precision scheduled railroading model," said Keith Creel, CP President and Chief Executive Officer. "CP has been without access to a deep-water Atlantic Ocean port for a quarter-century, and today I'm pleased to deliver a simple message: We're back."

CP originated westbound train 251-11 this morning for the Montreal region at Brownville Junction, Maine, with the first Port of Saint John containers on connection from the New Brunswick Southern (NBSR) and Eastern Maine (EMRY) railways. From Montreal, CP will move containers from the vessel Detroit Express on connecting trains to destinations that include Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Chicago and Minneapolis.

The first eastbound intermodal train to the Port of Saint John departed Montreal on Friday, Aug. 7.

CP gained access to the Port of Saint John through connections with EMRY and NBSR with CP's purchase of the Central Maine & Quebec Railway (CMQ), completed in June. CP has committed to investing $90 million over three years into the CMQ property to enhance safety and efficiency over the corridor. Complementing that investment is the port's $205 million West Side Modernization project, which includes a new wharf, a terminal upgrade and a deeper shipping channel.

CP's route is the shortest between Atlantic Canada and key North American markets. By year's end, CP anticipates it will be able to offer 24-hour service between Saint John and Montreal.

Time for me to ask again, what is the point of the additional more than a day sailing into the St. Lawrence River to Montreal, let alone transiting the Seaway to Toronto or Buffalo or Chicago or Superior for Minneapolis, Winnipeg, Calgary or Edmonton?