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The Reading Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad Co. (RBMN) recently acquired the Towanda-Monroeton Shippers Lifeline Railroad Inc., which operates a six-mile line between Towanda Borough and Monroeton, Pa.

The 300-mile RBMN will own a 1.5-mile section of the line and Shaffer's Feed Service Inc. will continue to own the remainder, but RBMN will provide service on the entire six-mile route. RBMN will interchange with Lehigh Railway L.L.C., which leases a Norfolk Southern Railway line that connects with Towanda-Monroeton Shippers Lifeline.

The Towanda-Monroeton short line is centrally located for traffic opportunities associated with natural gas production at the Marcellus Shale, said RBMN President Wayne Michel in an email. For example, shippers have expressed interest in moving frac sand — or sand used in hydraulic fracturing operations for oil and gas wells — along the line, he said.

— Jeff Stagl