Reading & Northern Railroad announces that Jim Raffa has been promoted to the position of executive vice president marketing and sales.

In his new position, Raffa will assist CEO Andy Muller and President Wayne Michel in creating and implementing the company’s commercial strategy.

R&N has enjoyed consistent growth in revenues and carloadings over the last decade. In the last 10 years, R&N freight traffic is up more than 50%, fueled by significant increases in the anthracite coal business and the development of a frac sand franchise, which was spearheaded by Raffa.

Raffa is currently responsible for the petrochemicals and minerals market segments as well as industrial development. He also works closely with Executive Vice President-Strategic Planning Christina Muller-Levan on pursuing strategic growth opportunities. As part of his strategic efforts, Raffa is taking a lead role in R&N’s effort to acquire the Luzerne County railroads owned by the Redevelopment Authority.

Press reports indicate that the county is interested in taking control of the railroad and privatizing it in order to get the county out of the railroad business. Raffa ran the prior operation of the local railroad, the Luzerne Susquehanna Railway.

Since he and his partners sold the railroad in 2020 to Kentucky-based RJ Corman, carloadings have fallen by half. Raffa will take the lead to ensure that R&N restores quality service to the freight customers if R&N is successful in buying the property.

Muller has also publicly committed to bringing passenger excursion service to Wilkes-Barre. R&N passenger operations already serve the region with over 340,000 riders enjoying R&N trains in 2024.

Raffa began his railroad career in 1989 with the Reading & Northern predecessor, Blue Mountain & Reading Railroad, as a trackman. After the Reading & Northern Railroad was formed in December 1990, he transitioned to coal traffic and real estate managers.

In 2007, Raffa accepted an ownership position with Lehigh Railway & Luzerne Susquehanna Railway. In 2020, after the sale of those rail lines to RJ Corman, Raffa returned to Reading & Northern to manage the petro-chemical and minerals accounts, including the natural gas, Marcellus Shale business.

When Raffa was hired, Michel said: “Jim brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from his time serving at the Lehigh Railway and Luzerne & Susquehanna. His knowledge of the region and his experience handling frac sand opportunities are critical to us as we continue to grow our railroad and business.”

Muller said: “Jim has done an amazing job in growing our frac sand business as he oversaw the creation and building of our Tunkhannock transload operation, which will handle over 4000 carloads of sand this year. As we embark on expansion opportunities, including in Luzerne County, Jim is the perfect person to ensure that we offer exceptional service to the new Reading & Northern customers as well as continuing our focus on service to all our customers.”

Raffa has over 35 years of railroad experience, specializing in business development, project management, marketing, and operations.

He was born and raised in Schuylkill County and has a passion for railroads, especially around his hometown of Schuylkill Haven. He graduated from Penn State University in 1988 and has a B.S. in Mathematics with a minor in Secondary Education. He has also completed some graduate courses, working towards a Master’s in Education.

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 over 300,000 riders annually. Reading & Northern operates its freight and steam- and diesel-powered passenger excursions over 400 miles of track, owns over 2,000 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.