Reading Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad will take over ownership of the rail infrastructure at the Humboldt Industrial Park beginning Jan. 1 through an agreement with the park's owner, CAN DO Inc., according to CAN DO President Kevin O'Donnell and Andrew Muller Jr., owner and CEO of the rail company.

In addition to owning and maintaining all of the track, Reading & Northern will also provide service to all of the customers in the industrial park.CAN DO entered into an agreement in 2012 with Reading & Northern to take ownership of the more than 7 miles of rail line inside Humboldt at the end of 2016.As a result of negotiations between the park's current rail provider, Norfolk Southern Railroad Company, and Reading & Northern, the time line was accelerated to Jan. 1, O'Donnell said.Reading & Northern is the largest privately owned railroad company in Pennsylvania.Muller said Reading & Northern plans to run a scheduled service, but will provide additional rail switches when business needs warrant them. The company will also offer railcar storage and personalized service for each business customer.Muller said all traffic to Humboldt Industrial Park will be received at Reading and move directly to Humboldt via Tamaqua and that no traffic to Humboldt should move through downtown Hazleton."Each customer will have their own local account representative who can assist them with all their rail needs and any issues that arise," said Wayne Michel, Reading & Northern's president. "At Reading & Northern the customer comes first and Humboldt customers will learn what our existing customers already know … our service is superior to that of any other railroad. Every Humboldt customer will be visited at least twice before we take over service."During those visits we will get to understand their needs. We will then design a service plan that guarantees every customer a service window and up to six-days-a-week service that meets their needs," Michel said.O'Donnell said CAN DO is excited to have Reading & Northern as a partner in its economic development efforts to attract new industry to Greater Hazleton."Rail service is critical to many companies and has been instrumental in the growth of our industrial parks. The new provider promises to be an asset in our future growth," he said.CAN DO constructed the 7.5 miles of track in its Humboldt Industrial Park, which is the region's largest rail-served industrial park. CAN DO launched the rail service more than 40 years ago with a $165,000 matching grant from the Appalachia Regional Commission and has extended the track numerous times since. Currently, more than 15 industries are dependent on rail service to the park. In 2013, 4,569 rail cars moved through Humboldt and the number increased to 4,633 last year.