What system is now used for keeping up with railroad cars? I don't see "bar codes" on the cars anymore.

Question

What system is now used for keeping up with railroad cars? I don't see "bar codes" on the cars anymore.

Answer 1

Railroad cars, and locomotives, in North America have attached to their frames what are called AEI (Automatic Equipment Identification) tags, which are basically radio-frequency ID tags embedded in epoxy.  At regular spacing along the tracks, there are AEI scanners which tie into the railroads' computer systems and provide an active update of the cars' location.

Answer 2

kb9 is right on the money! I saw this on a documentary about freight trains. Everything's gone high tech nowadays. These trains/cars are tracked from a central location/dispatch center.

Answer 3

I believe there is a box attached to the side of the car that can be read electronically as the car passes.

Answer 4

Kb9 either work for a Railroad or is a fanatic, He is right.