All About Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators
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.
What Do Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators Do On a Daily Basis?
- Turn wheels of machines, using lever controls, to adjust guidelines for track alignments or grades, following specifications.
- Repair or adjust track switches, using wrenches and replacement parts.
- Operate track-wrench machines to tighten or loosen bolts at joints that hold ends of rails together.
- Drive vehicles that automatically move and lay tracks or rails over sections of track to be constructed, repaired, or maintained.
- Push controls to close grasping devices on track or rail sections so that they can be raised or moved.
- Clean or make minor repairs to machines or equipment.
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What a Rail-Track Laying & Maintenance Equipment Operator Should Know
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.
Troubleshooting: Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
Equipment Maintenance: Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
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.
Related Job Titles
- Track Surfacing Machine Operator
- Track Laborer
- Track Supervisor
- Rail Maintenance Worker
- Track Service Person
What Kind of Rail-Track Laying & Maintenance Equipment Operator Job Opportunities Are There?
In 2016, there was an estimated number of 14,000 jobs in the United States for Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operator. 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. There will be an estimated 1,500 positions for Rail-Track Laying & Maintenance Equipment Operator per year.
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.
Rail-Track Laying & Maintenance Equipment Operator Average Salary
Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators make between $33,970 and $79,900 a year.
Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators who work in Massachusetts, New York, or Oregon, make the highest salaries.
How much do Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators make 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 |
What Tools do Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators Use?
Below is a list of the types of tools and technologies that Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators may use on a daily basis:
- Microsoft Excel
- Data entry software
- Timekeeping software
How to Become a Rail-Track Laying & Maintenance Equipment Operator
Are there Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators education requirements?
How Long Does it Take to Become a Rail-Track Laying & Maintenance Equipment Operator?
Where Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators Are Employed
The table below shows the approximate number of Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators employed by various industries.
Related Careers
Those interested in being a Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operator may also be interested in:
Are you already one of the many Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operator in the United States? If you’re thinking about changing careers, these fields are worth exploring:
- Light Truck or Delivery Services Drivers
- First-Line Supervisors of Agricultural Crop and Horticultural Workers
- Mine Cutting and Channeling Machine Operators
- Locomotive Engineers
References:
Image Credit: Hic85 via Public Domain
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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