Reading & Northern coal shipments pass 1M tons again

Reading & Northern coal shipments moved past the 1-million ton mark again, making it three consecutive years above that level. The railroad announced the milestone on Dec. 31, as outlined in a Reading Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad update and reported by Trains.com, noting the result came despite softer export volume.

This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

Domestic anthracite demand offsets export weakness

In its press release, the railroad pointed to the domestic market that mainly supports U.S. steel production. Domestic anthracite coal traffic grew nearly 20% in 2025, with most loads moving to electric-arc furnace steel mills across the country.

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Hopper purchases and a 2,000+ railcar fleet

To support the additional anthracite traffic, Reading & Northern said it purchased additional hoppers in mid-December. The cars are expected to be delivered in January or February 2026 and will be added to a fleet of more than 2,000 railcars. The railroad also anticipates buying more equipment to meet demand.

2026 carload forecast and the 2023 milestone

Overall, the company expects to move more than 40,000 carloads in 2026. Reading & Northern first reached the 1-million-ton mark in 2023, according to a Trains.com report on the 2023 milestone.

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