-----Original Message-----
From: Gary Olden <gary-elaine@...>
To: Albert Holtz <atholtz@...>; Jack May
<jack.may@...>; Julien Wolfe <pccwolfe@...>;
All_Aboard@yahoogroups.com <All_Aboard@Yahoogroups.com>; Ed Tennyson
<etennyson@...>
Sent: Wed, Jun 17, 2009 7:05 pm
Subject: [A_A] Vote could imperil some MI Amtrak Trains








Vote could imperil some Michigan Amtrak trains

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Published: Wednesday, June 17, 2009

LANSING, Mich. - Michigan legislators last week voted to cut its
Amtrak operating grant by $2 million, a move that could lead to
elimination of a train, the Port Huron (Mich.) Times-Herald has
reported. Trains that could be cut would be either the Chicago-Port
Huron Blue Water, the Chicago-Grand Rapids, Mich., Pere Marquette, or
both.



The subsidy cut comes as Michigan struggles to balance its budget. In
addition to ending the Blue Water or Pere Marquette, some other
Michigan state-supported Amtrak services could see reduced frequencies
as a result. Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said it's "premature for us
to talk about it." The list of trains that could potentially be cut
comes from the Midwest High Speed Rail Association.



In the past, proposed cuts to the state's Amtrak services have resulted
in protests from the public, and a similar proposal in Vermont failed=2
0
earlier this year amid public opposition. At a hearing on the issue in
Port Huron Saturday, members of the public came out to oppose any cuts.



"We're 100 percent against them, because they undermine all the efforts
we made in past years trying to restore and improve passenger rail,"
said James Wallington of Perry, Mich., a member of the Michigan
Association of Rail Passengers.



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