Goods wagons or
freight wagons (
North America:
goods cars or
freight cars) are unpowered railway vehicles that are used for the transportation of
cargo. A variety of wagon types are in use to handle different types of goods, but all goods wagons in a regional network typically have standardized
couplers and other fittings, such as hoses for
air brakes, allowing different wagon types to be assembled into
trains. For tracking and identification purposes, goods wagons are generally assigned a
unique identifier, typically a
UIC wagon number, or in North America, a company
reporting mark plus a company specific serial number.