Class II Reading & Northern, Railway Age’s four-time Regional of the Year recipient, has made a few changes in its corporate leadership structure “to better deal with the unprecedented growth in its anthracite coal business.”
During the past two years, “The Road of Anthracite” has responded to growing demand for domestic and export anthracite coal by increasing service to coal producers, purchasing additional coal cars and hiring more customer service staff. RBMN—on whose tracks almost all North American anthracite originates—notes that demand for Pennsylvania anthracite “will increase by double-digit levels in the years to come,” and as such is “realigning senior management resources to better manage this growing market segment.”
Eric Peters, formerly Vice President Transportation, has added management of RBMN’s coal car fleet to his responsibilities under his new title of Executive Vice President Transportation and Fleet Management. RBMN currently owns 2,000 coal cars consisting of aluminum and steel open-top hoppers, aluminum rapid discharge cars and covered hoppers that are expected to handle more than 12,000 carloads in 2024.
“With demand increasing and the fleet aging, we’ve transferred management of the car shop and related facilities under Eric,” said RBMN President Wayne Michel. “With his experience at Norfolk Southern and his recent experience overseeing the day-to-day transportation network that has handled RBMN’s 60% surge in coal business over the past two years, Eric is the perfect choice to handle this assignment. He will report to me on fleet management and continue to report to EVP Operations Tyler Glass as he manages the transportation network.”
Glass will continue to oversee all operations including freight and passenger trains as well as work train movements for the maintenance-of-way department. He also oversees the locomotive shop, which maintains 70-unit fleet, and the communication and signals department.
Coal marketing also got a boost. Jim Cerulli has been added to the team as Vice President Coal Business Development. He joins Senior Vice President Coal Marketing Bill Clark, a Norfolk Southern veteran who joined RBMN in 2017, and recent hire Mike Sharadin, Vice President Coal Sourcing. Sharadin “focuses on the supply side by working closely with coal producers to make sure they have the infrastructure and equipment resources they need,” RBMN said. “Cerulli will focus on working with Clark to handle the demand side. Critical to their work is establishing service to new and expanding steel mills by developing direct rail options as well as establishing transload centers with truckers.”
“With Eric and Jim joining the existing Coal team, we are confident we have the management in place to continue expanding our coal business,” said Owner/CEO Andy Muller Jr. “Last year we moved one million tons for the first time in our history. We hope to eclipse 1.5 million tons in the next three years and perhaps two million tons by the end of this decade. To do this will require additional RBMN investment in equipment and people, and I am committed to providing us with the resources to continue our growth.”
RBMN’s robust anthracite coal business growth is due in large part to market shifts that resulted from the Russia-Ukraine wat. As RBMN explains it: “On Feb. 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. As Western sanctions were imposed on Russia, a seismic shift occurred in international purchasing of anthracite, a key carbon source in steel making and other industrial production. Anthracite producers in Northeastern Pennsylvania responded by making significant investments in their facilities to fill the void. RBMN also made investments to handle the increased international demand. At the same time, domestic demand increased as electric arc furnace steel mills shifted to anthracite as their carbon source. And with domestic steelmaking booming due to tariffs on imported steel and increased infrastructure spending that requires “Buy America” steel, domestic steel mills sought additional anthracite.”
Port Clinton, Pa.-based Reading & Northern, a privately held company, serves more than 80 customers in nine eastern Pennsylvania counties (Berks, Bradford, Carbon, Columbia, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Northumberland, Schuylkill and Wyoming) on 400-plus miles of track and employs more than 350 people. It has expanded its operations over the past 40 years and now handles nearly 40,000 carloads of freight (the equivalent of 200,000 trucks). RBMN’s Passenger Department hosts 300,000 riders annually on steam- and diesel-powered passenger excursions.
