Blumenthal calls out Amtrak for ditching vet discount program

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., is criticizing Amtrak for doing away with its discount program for veterans.

“They’re simply pinching pennies and putting the burden on our vets,” he said by phone Monday evening.

He sent a letter to Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson last week, calling the decision “inexcusable” and urging him to reinstate the discount.

Jason Abrams, an Amtrak spokesman, said that active-duty U.S. military, their spouses and dependents are eligible for a 10 percent discount on rail fare on most Amtrak trains.

For 17 years, veterans were eligible for a discount through the membership-based program Veterans Advantage, which partners with companies like Amtrak to provide discounts to veterans.

“Were really stunned by this development,” Scott Higgins, a Vietnam veteran who co-founded the program with his wife, said by phone Monday.

Higgins worked with Amtrak officials to initially offer a 10 percent discount for Veterans Advantage members, which he claimed was the first veterans discount offered by any company in the U.S. After 9/11, Amtrak hiked the discount to 50 percent, according to Higgins, who said that lasted two-and-a-half years before the discount rate changed again to 15 percent.

“It was a very successful program in terms of attracting vets and their family members and also retaining them,” he said. “Veterans are a very loyal group of people.”

In 2013, Blumenthal wrote to then Amtrak CEO Joseph Boardman asking that the veterans discount be expanded to include immediate family members, and that it be eligible for same-day travel. Amtrak agreed.

“Now they’ve completely abolished the discount, which is outrageous and insulting,” Blumenthal said.

The senator, joined by Higgins, held a news conference Tuesday morning at New Haven’s Union Station to call on Amtrak to reverse its decision. Higgins said that Amtrak informed him via letter last month that its new management team wants to pursue an airline model, offering promotions from time to time to incentivize people to take trains that they wouldn’t otherwise take. He added that Veterans Advantage has “never taken a dime from Amtrak” and that the program provides all of the administration services for free.

Abrams, the Amtrak spokesman, said in an emailed statement that the company “is moving passenger rail service to a more streamlined and efficient business model.”

“The goal is to improve overall revenue performance by expanding the use of tactical fare sales to generate ridership growth versus everyday discounts for certain consumer segments,” he wrote.

Amtrak also has gotten rid of its student and AAA discounts. It also increased the age for the 10 percent discount for seniors from 62 to 65.