Pennsylvania rail authority logs carload increase in 2019's first half

The Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority (PNRRA) logged a 17 percent increase in carloads transported on its rail system in northeastern Pennsylvania during the first six months of 2019 compared with the same period in 2018, the authority reported yesterday.

The carload increase is "especially significant" since 2018 was a record year for carloads transported on the authority's tracks, PNRRA officials said in a press release.

The railroad's operator is the Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad.

"This substantial growth is especially significant in the face of national carload data which shows a 3 percent decrease among Class I railroads in the United States for the same period reports," said PNRRA President Larry Malski.

As a consequence of the traffic growth, a track was added to the authority's Green Ridge Yard in Scranton. The project was funded with the help of a $686,000 Pennsylvania Department of Transportation grant awarded to the Delaware-Lackawanna.