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As many of you know, Amtrak's Downeaster operations are now funded in part by federal money, known as "CMAQ" funds. Those funds will run out in October of 2008 and must be replaced with funds from the State of Maine or the Downeaster service will terminate. Given the way that Maine does its budgeting, as well as the lead time needed to have the money in place by October 2008, these funds need to be included in the budget that Governor Baldacci is now finalizing. In order to ensure that funding for the Downeaster is included, we need as many of you as possible to call the Governor's office (207-287-3531) to say that he must include those funds (at
least $8 million) in his budget. We must call as soon as possible, since we think that the budget will be in its final form by the end of this week.
Please note that the Governor is a strong supporter of the service. All you need to do is show your support for inclusion of the money in the budget. If we don't assure the continuation of what has become America's Favorite Train, there will never be any extensions to Brunswick and Beyond.
Thanks for the help and hope to see you on the train!
Wayne E. Davis, Chairman, TrainRiders/Northeast, Box 4869, Portland, ME 04112
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