As a result of unprecedented growth in its freight business,  Reading & Northern Railroad (R&N) is announcing changes in the leadership of its marketing department.

James Raffa is being promoted to Senior Vice President – Petrochemicals & Minerals. Since rejoining R&N two years ago Raffa has been instrumental in developing a Marcellus Shale transload terminal in Tunkhannock. After a successful first year that saw R&N handle over 2,000 carloads of frac sand, R&N is poised to more than double that volume in 2023. As that business has taken off, Raffa has taken responsibility for the rest of the petrochemical and mineral business. All told this business segment handles over 10,000 carloads a year and includes one of R&Ns fastest growing markets.

Rian Nemeroff is being named Senior Vice President – Consumer Products. Over the last seven years Nemeroff has successfully built R&Ns forest products business into the company’s largest group with over 10,000 carloads a year. In his new position Nemeroff will also handle all food and agriculture products. His business group will cover over14,000 carloads a year.

William Clark remains Senior Vice President – Coal. R&N has long been known as” the Road of Anthracite” and Clark has been instrumental in expanding that franchise. 2022 was R&N’s best year ever for coal shipments and 2023 will eclipse that mark. In fact, R&N is poised in 2023 to handle over 1,000,000 tons of anthracite coal for the first time in its history. Since northeastern Pennsylvania has the largest anthracite deposits in North America, and with electric are furnace steel mills increasingly looking to anthracite as a source of carbon, the future for R&N’s coal franchise is very bright.

With three seasoned railroad marketing officials, each with over 30 years of experience, Reading and Northern is well positioned for continued growth and prosperity.