Reading & Northern receives first frac sand unit train

Reading, Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad announced this week the arrival of its first frac sand unit train.

Norfolk Southern Corp. delivered the train to the short line’s North Reading Yard, where crews helped transport it to Reading & Northern’s sand storage facility in Pittston, Pennsylvania, Reading & Northern officials said in a press release.

Frac sand is an anchor commodity of the new Tunkhannock Transload Terminal that opened for business earlier this year. Reading & Northern officials identified a regional need for a transload terminal last year and began the process of building the facility in Tunkhannock. The short line expects to move significant tonnage through the facility.

Reading & Northern serves more than 70 customers in nine eastern Pennsylvania counties. The railroad handles more than 34,000 carloads of freight annually.