Governor John Baldacci yesterday said trains will not be affected by the state’s current multi-million budget deficit and that he remains committed to railway expansion.
Baldacci said he is looking at a low-cost federal loan or revenue bond to cover Amtrak’s $7 million to $8 million Maine operations after the Downeaster train’s federal subsidies expire in 2009, the Bangor Daily News reported.
Long-term, the governor plans to create a network of trains running from Portland to Bangor, which could encourage business and retail centers to spring up in the towns along the way, Greg Nadeau of the Maine Dept. of Transportation told the paper.