Reading & Northern logs uptick in freight, tourist traffic

Reading & Northern Railroad (R&N) in 2016 carried nearly 20,000 merchandise carloads, marking a 16 percent increase compared with carloads in the previous year, the regional announced Wednesday.

In addition, the railroad's tourist operations served more than 100,000 passengers — the second time in the R&N's history that it surpassed that figure.

Also, as of 2016's end, R&N had more employees, track, locomotives, freight cars, facilities and customers than at any point in its history, officials from the regional said in a press release.

"Business has been very good the last few years and in order to keep growing we invest in the railroad ahead of the demand," said Andy Muller Jr., R&N's owner and chief executive officer. "That is why this year we bought more locomotives and freight cars and did an unprecedented amount of trackwork."

R&N added 10 miles of new track to its system in 2016, including the acquisition of the Humboldt Industrial Park in Hazleton, Pa. Additionally, the regional's crews and contractors installed more than 15,000 ties, replaced more than 20,000 linear feet of rail and built a dozen new switches.

Last year, the regional also acquired 162 additional freight cars and six locomotives.