During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the CAR abandoned almost all of its branch lines in New Brunswick and Maine north of McAdam, NB except for a remnant of the Edmundston Subdivision which was preserved as an industrial spur in Grand Falls, NB. South of McAdam, the St. Stephen Subdivision was kept, as well as its core industrial spurs in western Saint John and the mainline McAdam, Mattawamkeag and Moosehead Subdivisions connecting the Maritimes to Montreal. In Nova Scotia, the CAR abandoned the lines west of Kentville to Yarmouth following cancellation of Via Rail services in January 1990.