The Chemin de fer de la Matapédia et du Golfe (in English, the Matapedia and Gulf Railway) was a short line railway that operated in eastern

Québec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

from 1998-2008. Owned by the holding company

Quebec Railway Corporation Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen p ...

(QRC), CFMG operated freight service between Rivière-du-Loup in the west to Matapédia in the east as well as from Mont-Joli to the port of Matane.

1998 establishment

The Chemin de fer de la Matapédia et du Golfe was established on 19 January 1998 as a subsidiary of QRC to operate the eastern half of the former

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

(CN) Mont Joli Subdivision (this being the former Intercolonial Railway mainline) between Mont-Joli and Matapédia. This first incarnation of CFMG had the following spurs and/or connections: * Mont-Joli - CFMG connected with CN which continued to operate the western half of the Mont Joli Subdivision to Rivière-du-Loup and St. Andre Junction, as well as the Matane Subdivision to Matane. * Matapédia - CFMG connected with sister company

Chemin de fer Baie des Chaleurs The Chemin de fer Baie des Chaleurs (in English, the Chaleur Bay Railway) was a short line railway that operated in eastern Québec from 1996 to 2007. Owned by the holding company Quebec Railway Corporation (QRC), CBC operated freight service ...

(CBC) which operated the line northeast from Matapédia to Gaspé. CFMG also connected at the interprovincial boundary between Quebec and New Brunswick (at the Restigouche River) with sister company New Brunswick East Coast Railway (NBEC) which continued the former CN mainline southeast to

Moncton Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the The Maritimes, Maritime Provinces. The ...

. On 14 February 1999, QRC purchased from CN the Mont Joli Subdivision between Mont-Joli and Rivière-du-Loup as well as the Matane Subdivision between Mont-Joli and Matane. At the Port of Matane, CFMG connected with the

railcar ferry A train ferry is a ship (ferry) designed to carry Railroad car, railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with Track (rail transport), railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wh ...

service to Baie Comeau which was also purchased from CN by QRC and was operated as a separate subsidiary company called

Compagnie de gestion de Matane Compagnie de gestion de Matane Inc. (COGEMA) is a subsidiary of Canadian National Railway (CN) operating a dedicated railcar ferry service in Quebec between Matane and Baie-Comeau; additionally it provides occasional Train ferry, railcar ferry s ...

(COGEMA). CFMG later obtained running rights over CN approximately west from Rivière-du-Loup to St. Andre Junction where it connected with the CN mainline from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Montreal, Quebec. In 2007 QRC sold its

CBC subsidiary to

Société de chemin de fer de la Gaspésie The Société du chemin de fer de la Gaspésie (in English, the Gaspésie Railway Society) is a Canadian short line railway located in eastern Quebec operating of track from its interchange with Canadian National Railway (CN) at Matapédia in ...

(SCFG) except for a section of the Cascapedia Subdivision east of the wye at Matapédia. Ownership of this section of line and the wye were transferred to CFMG.

2008 infrastructure program

On 1 February 2008,

reached an agreement with the Government of Canada and

Government of Quebec A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

for $14.6 million in funding for infrastructure improvements on the railway lines between Rivière-du-Loup to Matapédia as well as Mont-Joli to Matane. This announcement was made by Lawrence Cannon, federal Minister of Transport, and

Nathalie Normandeau Nathalie Normandeau (born May 8, 1968 in Maria, Quebec) is a Quebec politician. She was MNA for the riding of Bonaventure in the Gaspésie region between 1998 and 2011. She was also Deputy Premier and a member of the Quebec Liberal Party. Bi ...

, Deputy Premier and provincial Minister of Municipal Affairs as well as regional minister for Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine, and Claude Béchard, provincial Minister of Natural Resources and Wildlife as well as regional minister for Bas-Saint-Laurent. It would see a combined investment by the two levels of government of $9.7 million ($5.8 million from the federal government, $3.8 million from the provincial government) over a five-year period with additional funding of $5 million from Quebec Railway Corporation. This funding was targeted at improving track and bridge infrastructure to allow CFMG to carry heavier freight railway cars. It was predicted that the investment would lead to additional spin-off investments of $75 million for railway customers which are predominantly focused on wood products, paper, pulp, particle boards, iron or, and aluminum.

2008 sale to CN

On 3 November 2008 CN announced that it was purchasing the New Brunswick East Coast Railway (NBEC) and its sister companies Chemin de fer de la Matapédia et du Golfe (CFMG),

(COGEMA), and the Ottawa Central Railway (OCRR) for $49.8 million (CAD) from the Quebec Railway Corporation. CN said that it planned to change little in the operations of the acquired lines, although the railroad said it intended to invest capital to upgrade the track it acquired, as well as replacing the locomotives with newer motive power.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chemin De Fer De La Matapedia Et Du Golfe Quebec railways Rail transport in Campbellton, New Brunswick Rail transport in Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine Rail transport in Bas-Saint-Laurent