The mainline (and related spurs) was formerly Canadian National Railway's second mainline between Montreal and Moncton. Its entire route was built originally as the Intercolonial Railway of Canada. Established 19 January 1998, NBEC actually started operations in December 1997 and was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Société des chemins de fer du Québec (Quebec Railway Corporation).
Via Rail's Montreal-Halifax passenger train, the Ocean, operates along the entire length of the NBEC's Newcastle Subdivision.
The CN announcement indicates that the reacquired rail lines will be integrated back into the CN network with no significant changes, other than introducing CN locomotives and rolling stock to train operations. CN also mentioned investing significant capital upgrades in the rail network for outstanding maintenance.
