For the second year in a row Pennsylvania’s largest privately-owned railroad reported double digit growth in both its freight and passenger excursion operations.

The Port Clinton based railroad eclipsed 37,000 freight cars handled over its system, up from 33,000 cars in 2022. Its excursion ridership went from 250,000 riders in 2022 to over 320,000 riders in 2023.

The growth in freight traffic was due to two primary factors. First, Reading and Northern reported a significant increase in anthracite coal moved out of the Pennsylvania anthracite fields as the railroad handled over one million tons of anthracite coal moved for the first time in its 33-year history.

Second, Reading and Northern’s new frac sand terminal in Tunkhannock doubled its volume in its second full year of operation. These two market segments contribute about half of Reading and Northern’s diverse traffic base as the railroad also handles substantial volumes of forest products, petrochemicals and minerals, food and agricultural products, metals, and consumer products.

In addition, Reading and Northern owns a warehouse, various transload facilities and a trucking firm that all support its core rail business.

The growth in passenger excursion ridership was a result of significant expansion of new services, especially the opening of the new Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Regional Railroad Station in Pittston, as well as increased train starts and equipment.

“It is fitting that in his 40th year in the railroad business, Andy Muller Jr., our owner and CEO, would be named one of the innovators in the railroad industry. His accomplishments over the last 40 years are noteworthy and the railroad’s record-breaking performance in 2023 is further evidence that his management philosophy works. Take care of your employees, focus on the customers, and constantly invest in the business. Over the last three years Andy has invested heavily in the anthracite coal, frac sand and passenger business and it is no surprise that is where our growth has occurred,” said Wayne Michel, Reading and Northern President.

Reading & Northern Railroad, with its corporate headquarters in Port Clinton, is a privately held railroad company serving over 80 customers in nine eastern Pennsylvania counties (Berks, Bradford, Carbon, Columbia, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Northumberland, Schuylkill, and Wyoming).

It has expanded its operations over the last 40 years; and now handles nearly 40,000 carloads of freight (which removes over 200,000 trucks from the highway), while its Passenger Department handles 300,000 riders annually.

Reading & Northern operates its freight and steam- and diesel-powered passenger excursions over 400 miles of track, owns almost 1,800 freight cars, and employs over 350 dedicated people.

Reading & Northern has been repeatedly honored as one of the premier railroads in the nation, including being named Regional Railroad of the Year in 2020 by Railway Age magazine.