American Freight automation will be a crazy beast. Closed lines can be fully automated, and we are seeing a lot of PTC (positive train control) such as automati

American Freight automation will be a crazy beast. Closed lines can be fully automated, and we are seeing a lot of PTC (positive train control) such as automatically enforcing speed limits and collision detection. The driver is supposed to know when they are approaching a red signal -- nowadays the engine notices too. However, the nationwide freight network is interconnected by many different companies, in various states of repair, with various states of mechanization. I live near a bunch of grain processors and when they are taking deliveries it is a lot of manual switching and back and forth to get each plant's cars to the right lines. Could it be automated? Yes, the technology is available, you 'just' have to implement it. Will it be? Probably not anytime soon.