One month since the deadly train explosion on July 6 in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, U.S. based rail company Montreal, Main & Atlantic Ltd. has filed for bankruptcy protection in Canada and United States.

MMA Chairman Ed Burkhadt said that "the obligations of both companies now exceed the value of their assets, including prospective insurance recoveries, as a direct result of the tragic derailment at Lac-Megantic, Quebec, on July 6."

According to Reuters, the court documents filed at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Maine stated that the decision to file for bankruptcy in both countries was to 'preserve the value of its assets for a potential sale following the decrease in its total monthly revenues for both Canada and U.S. units to about $1 million since the Quebec explosion.

Its assets are now between $50 million and $100 million with liabilities of up to $10 million.

On Wednesday, both units separately filed its bankruptcy petition at a Maine court under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code and at a Quebec Superior Court under Canada's Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act.

Hearing will commenced on Thursday in Bangor, Maine.

On the other hand, Chairman Burkhardt added that the railway will continue its rail services in Quebec, Maine and Vermont. Lac-Megantic could restore its operation as soon as "authorities allow it and to the level they consider appropriate".

The MMA and World Fuel Services were ordered by the Quebec government to cover the cleanup cost for the oil that spilled in the explosion. The municipality of Lac Megantic is already demanding the rail company to pay back the $7.57 million they have paid for the cleanup.

The Chairman said that they are doing their best "to achieve completion of such goal" and wishes to work with authorities "in the continuing environmental remediation and clean-up as long as is necessary."

A spokesperson from the Canadian Transportation Agency said they are waiting for MMA's confirmation to continue its third party liability insurance coverage for their ongoing operations in Canada.

Meanwhile, lawyers of the victims of explosion have already expected that MMA will file for bankruptcy, calling it an attempt to limit their responsibilities in the disaster.

“They’re not going to get away with it. I mean this case is too huge and too tragic for them to be able to get away with it. We see it in all kinds of cases – bus cases, train, plane cases, pharmaceutical cases that we do. You know everybody tries to point the figure at the other subsidiary and it just doesn’t work," Edward Jazlowiecki, a lawyer representing several victims in Lac-Megantic, said.

On the one month anniversary of the Lac-Megantic explosion, residents received a discouraging news that they still won't be able to return to their homes for at least a year.

CTV News reported that officials from the Ministry of the Environment said that a "significant decontamination is still required in the epicentre of the disaster once known as the 'red zone'.

A train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded in Lac-Megantic on July 6, killing 47 people.