Reading & Northern expresses goal to acquire Luzerne County’s rail line in 2026

Reading & Northern Railroad hopes to finalize its acquisition of Luzerne County’s rail line in 2026, it said in a recent release about the company’s record freight revenues and passenger ridership.

“Under public ownership, rail freight traffic has fallen,” the company said of the county line.

Reading & Northern Chairman and CEO Andy M. Muller Jr. had made an unsolicited offer to purchase the county line for $10 million in October, stating that he would increase freight service and introduce passenger train excursions from Wilkes-Barre to Pittston.

These are not commuter routes, but they would connect Wilkes-Barre to popular tourism train rides, such as existing excursions Reading & Northern operates from Pittston to historic Jim Thorpe.

The news release described the $10 million offer as “aggressive.” It reiterated that Reading & Northern had purchased a downtown Wilkes-Barre lot that would hold a passenger platform station for the train excursions if the company succeeds in acquiring the county rail line.

“R&N has pledged to rebuild the freight franchise,” the release said in reference to the county line. “And R&N has committed to bringing its award-winning passenger service to Wilkes-Barre.”

Luzerne County’s Redevelopment Authority owns the line. Although initially resistant to non-public rail ownership, authority board members decided offers should be considered, but only in a public process open to all interested entities.

The authority board approved a contract last month with Trenton, N.J.-based Strauss & Associates/Planners to document county rail line assets and assist in preparing the public request for proposals.

Authority Board Chairman Scott Linde said Wednesday that the consultant, Andy Strauss, “is engaged and doing his due diligence.”

“We look forward to working with the county to benefit both public and private stakeholders,” Linde said.

Linde has said he is hopeful Strauss will complete his due diligence and prepare a final report by February, and another 30 to 60 days would be needed after that to prepare and release the request for proposals.

Outside expertise is needed to assess all holdings in multiple municipalities, including approximately 30 miles of active line and 25 or so miles of inactive line, which is primarily “behind people’s houses,” Linde had said.

A lawsuit authorized by the County Council, filed against the authority in July, is now in the discovery phase.

Letters show the county wants the authority to turn over the railroad so it can be sold to recoup $3.28 million that had been loaned to the authority for the rail line. While the delinquent loan was cited as a reason for the county litigation, it appears to be part of a broader effort to privatize the track, with the hope of adding passenger rail excursions while expanding commercial use.

Attorney John Dean, of Elliott Greenleaf & Dean, which filed the County Council-authorized suit, said on Wednesday that the county is simultaneously proceeding with litigation discovery and working with Strauss & Associates/Planners and the defendants to gather the necessary information to issue the request for proposals.

“Let’s get this thing out to bid. Let’s get the county paid. And more importantly, let’s get this railroad servicing the businesses and the public,” Dean said.

The County Council appoints the five authority board members. One of the seats has become vacant and must be filled because Board member Vincent Fayock has resigned, Council Chairman Jimmy Sabatino said Wednesday.

The other board members are John Pekarovsky, Stephen E. Phillips, and Erik Laskosky.