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What Does it Take to Be a Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operator?

Rail-Track Laying & Maintenance Equipment Operator Job Description Lay, repair, and maintain track for standard or narrow-gauge railroad equipment used in regular railroad service or in plant yards, quarries, sand and gravel pits, and mines. Includes ballast cleaning machine operators and railroad bed tamping machine operators.

Daily Life Of a Rail-Track Laying & Maintenance Equipment Operator

Paint railroad signs, such as speed limits or gate-crossing warnings.
Operate single- or multiple-head spike pullers to pull old spikes from ties.
Clean tracks or clear ice or snow from tracks or switch boxes.
Clean, grade, or level ballast on railroad tracks.
Adjust controls of machines that spread, shape, raise, level, or align track, according to specifications.
Operate track-wrench machines to tighten or loosen bolts at joints that hold ends of rails together.

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What Skills Do You Need to Work as a Rail-Track Laying & Maintenance Equipment Operator?

Below is a list of the skills most Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators say are important on the job.

Operation Monitoring: Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.

Operation and Control: Controlling operations of equipment or systems.

Equipment Maintenance: Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.

Troubleshooting: Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.

Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Track Maintainer
Track Service Worker
Slab Lifting Supervisor
Railway Equipment Operator
Rail Track Layer

Rail-Track Laying & Maintenance Equipment Operator Job Outlook

There were about 14,000 jobs for Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operator in 2016 (in the United States). New jobs are being produced at a rate of 8.6% which is above the national average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 1,200 new jobs for Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operator by 2026. The BLS estimates 1,500 yearly job openings in this field.

The states with the most job growth for Rail-Track Laying & Maintenance Equipment Operator are Florida, Texas, and South Carolina. Watch out if you plan on working in Minnesota, Alaska, or Arkansas. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.

Do Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators Make A Lot Of Money?

The typical yearly salary for Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators is somewhere between $33,970 and $79,900.

Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators who work in Massachusetts, New York, or Oregon, make the highest salaries.

Below is a list of the median annual salaries for Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators in different U.S. states.

State	Annual Mean Salary
Alabama	$45,170
Arizona	$49,670
Arkansas	$52,660
California	$51,330
Colorado	$54,160
Florida	$47,060
Georgia	$52,440
Idaho	$55,690
Illinois	$56,610
Indiana	$57,100
Iowa	$52,840
Kansas	$50,290
Kentucky	$45,780
Louisiana	$52,690
Maine	$44,460
Maryland	$60,500
Massachusetts	$76,360
Michigan	$53,190
Minnesota	$50,040
Missouri	$48,380
Montana	$54,390
Nebraska	$58,960
New Hampshire	$36,180
New Jersey	$57,880
New Mexico	$53,290
New York	$69,080
North Carolina	$48,800
Ohio	$49,700
Oklahoma	$37,850
Oregon	$62,680
Pennsylvania	$57,510
South Carolina	$39,250
South Dakota	$48,320
Tennessee	$52,060
Texas	$48,590
Utah	$47,820
Vermont	$49,250
Virginia	$54,980
Washington	$56,410
West Virginia	$58,940
Wisconsin	$50,560
Wyoming	$65,850

Tools & Technologies Used by Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators

Although they’re not necessarily needed for all jobs, the following technologies are used by many Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators:

Microsoft Excel
Data entry software
Timekeeping software

How to Become a Rail-Track Laying & Maintenance Equipment Operator

Individuals working as a Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operator have obtained the following education levels:

How many years of work experience do I need?

Where Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators Are Employed

Below are examples of industries where Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators work:

Other Jobs You May be Interested In

Those thinking about becoming a Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operator might also be interested in the following careers:

Career changers with experience as a Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operator sometimes find work in one of the following fields:

References:

Image Credit: Hic85 via Public Domain

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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