Portland-Montreal Pipe Line

Portland–Montreal Pipe Line
Portland Pipeline marine terminal in South Portland, ME
Map of Portland–Montreal Pipe Line
Location
Country	United States Canada
From	South Portland, Maine, United States
To	Montreal, Quebec, Canada
General information
Type	Crude oil
Operator	Portland Pipe Line Corporation (in the United States) Montreal Pipe Line Limited (in Canada)
Commissioned	1941
Technical information
Length	236 mi (380 km)
Diameter	24 in (610 mm)

The Portland Montreal Pipe Line is a series of underground crude oil pipelines connecting South Portland, Maine, in the United States with Montreal, Quebec, in Canada. As of early 2016, the pipeline transports limited volumes, sufficient to keep the pipeline wet. The pipeline also supplied crude to the Suncor Montreal-Est refinery during supply interruptions due to the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfires.

The pipeline traces its history to the early years of World War II when oil shipments to Canada were severely disrupted by the Kriegsmarine during the Battle of the St. Lawrence and the larger Battle of the Atlantic. In order to safely transport oil to central Canada, a pipeline was proposed to connect the relatively secure Port of Portland in Maine with refineries in Montreal.

The marine terminal was built on the south side of the Fore River in the city of South Portland immediately downstream of the Portland Terminal Company's railroad bridge over the river. The pipeline route from Portland to Montreal was mostly built alongside the existing right of way for the Portland - Montreal rail line which was owned at that time by the Canadian National Railways (CNR) and called the CNR's Berlin Subdivision. This rail line was built in the 1850s by the Atlantic & St. Lawrence Railroad which was purchased by the Grand Trunk Railway shortly after completion. The Grand Trunk Railway encountered financial difficulties after World War I, and the company was nationalized by the Government of Canada in 1923 with its properties merged into the CNR.