A New Brunswick MP is concerned about what the projected $300 million in Via Rail budget cuts could mean for railway service in the Maritimes.

Acadie-Bathurst NDP MP Yvon Godin said he worries what a 60 per cent reduction in funds — forecasted by Treasury Board President Tony Clement last week — would do to service from Montreal to Halifax.

Godin said it is already too restricted in the region.

"It will be a step backwards, that's what it would mean," said Godin.

He wants the public to pressure the province.

'When we lose it, we're never going to get it back.'— Acadie-Bathurst MP Yvon Godin

"I'm hoping the public get more voice, have a bigger voice on it. It's their service to them, and we need the help of the public to tell this government, sending them letters … petition, to say, 'Look, we need that service,'" he said.

"We don't hear the provincial government here in New Brunswick yet. It is totally important and when we lose it, we're never going to get it back."

A provincial Department of Transportation spokesperson was unable to comment on the projections, but a statement from the department said a 2007 commitment of $1 billion over five years ended in 2012 and that accounts for a large portion in the reduction in funds.

Without an official budget to look at, it's too early to comment on numbers, said a Via spokesperson.

The federal budget is expected to come down this month.