Amtrak offers discount to NFL fans in California

The national passenger rail service is offering discounts to fans of the National Football League's Oakland Raiders who take trains to the team's games.

Amtrak said Tuesday that fans would save 25 percent on tickets for trips on its Capitol Corridor route in California if they took the train to get to Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum for Raiders games this year.

The agency said it could provide "a comfortable and convenient ride" to the stadium.

"With a train station at the Coliseum, you'll be dropped off at the front door," Amtrak said in a post on its website. "You can also choose from up to 32 trains a day between Sacramento and the Bay Area so it's easy to find one that fits your schedule. You can grab a snack in our Café Car, or just sit back and enjoy the ride." 

Amtrak has come under fire lately for the amount of money is spends offering concessions like its Café Car onboard its trains.

Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), who is in a contentious primary against Rep. Sandy Adams (R-Fla.), said Amtrak lost $833 million in the last 10 years on food and beverages. Mica, who has been criticized by Adams for his role in passing large transportation bills, called the concession expenses "staggering."

Mica visited a Washington, D.C., McDonald's to protest the Amtrak food program, arguing that a burger and soda at the fast food chain only costs $2.

Mica and other Republican lawmakers have also criticized Amtrak's ridership on routes outside of the populous Northeast like the railway's California Corridor.

Rail ridership in California has been a topic of debate in Washington because of a controversial proposed high-speed railway that was recently approved by state lawmakers after the Obama administration provided $3 billion to the project.

Opponents arguing that the high-speed rail will not generate enough ridership to pay for its operations, often pointing to existing railways in the area like Amtrak's.

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