Reading & Northern Railroad has announced 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 ten 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 EVP-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. R&N CEO Andy Muller, Jr., 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 Manager and Real Estate Manager. 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.
-via Press Release
