Approved rail carriers can electronically arrive their own conveyances at the first U.S. port and do timely updates to manifest records with the actual arrival date. Secondary Notify Party Rail carriers can designate up to two additional AMS participants per bill of lading to receive status notifications. Additionally, participants can electronically update these movements with arrival and export data. This prompts AMS to release the carrier's electronic status notifications for that train. Automated Line Release Rail AMS carriers can participate in automated Line Release.
Customs then sends the entry number and the entry status back to the rail carrier.
This alleviates the need for Customs inspectors to scan the bar codes manually, thus expediting the flow of cargo. Carriers can electronically request and receive authorization for moves originating in the U.S. and transiting to Canada, before terminating in the U.S. Broker Download Rail AMS paticipants can identify a broker for a particular bill when transmitting bill of lading information. Independent data processing companies and port authorities have developed hardware, software, and teleprocessing capabilities that meet Customs requirements. These companies are located throughout the United States and charges to participants vary. Customs can provide a list of AMS data processing providers.