Transportation and Material Moving · Holland code RCI

Locomotive Engineers

Drive electric, diesel-electric, steam, or gas-turbine-electric locomotives to transport passengers or freight. Interpret train orders, electronic or manual signals, and railroad rules and regulations.

Also called: Engineer, Passenger Locomotive Engineer, Railroad Engineer, Trainmaster, Steam Locomotive Engineer, Steam Locomotive Fireman, Through Freight Engineer, Train Engineer.

O*NET 53-4011.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $81,410; Middle half earn $75,190 to $93,260. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 2 of 5; Some preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Receive starting signals from conductors and use controls such as throttles or air brakes to drive electric, diesel-electric, steam, or gas turbine-electric locomotives.
Monitor gauges or meters that measure speed, amperage, battery charge, or air pressure in brake lines or in main reservoirs.
Interpret train orders, signals, or railroad rules and regulations that govern the operation of locomotives.
Observe tracks to detect obstructions.
Confer with conductors or traffic control center personnel via radiophones to issue or receive information concerning stops, delays, or oncoming trains.
Inspect locomotives to verify adequate fuel, sand, water, or other supplies before each run or to check for mechanical problems.
Operate locomotives to transport freight or passengers between stations or to assemble or disassemble trains within rail yards.
Respond to emergency conditions or breakdowns, following applicable safety procedures and rules.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Monitoring3.9 / 5
Critical Thinking3.6 / 5
Active Listening3.5 / 5
Speaking3.4 / 5
Reading Comprehension3.1 / 5
Active Learning3.0 / 5

Knowledge areas

Transportation4.0 / 5
Public Safety and Security3.5 / 5
Mechanical3.3 / 5
Mathematics3.0 / 5
Customer and Personal Service2.9 / 5
Education and Training2.8 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic100
Investigative42
Artistic0
Social14
Enterprising15
Conventional61

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

rolling stock inspector · DE Schienenfahrzeuginspektor/Schienenfahrzeuginspektorin · FR inspecteur de matériel roulant/inspectrice de matériel roulant
train driver · DE Schienenfahrzeugführer/Schienenfahrzeugführerin · FR conducteur de train/conductrice de train
shunter · DE Rangierer/Rangiererin · FR agent de manœuvre du réseau ferré/agente de manœuvre du réseau ferré
train preparer · DE Zugvorbereiter/Zugvorbereiterin · FR opérateur de préparation technique des trains/opératrice de préparation technique des trains

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Rail transport operatives (8234)13,700 employed
Train and tram drivers (8231)40,600 employed
Engineering technicians (3113)74,200 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Japan

Japan classifies jobs in its own way. The closest category that names the same work is “鉄道運転従事者”, which may be narrower or broader than this occupation.

Median monthly pay: ¥376,800; Middle half earn ¥318,800 to ¥464,400 a month.
Workers in the category: 34,050; Regular employees in firms of ten or more.

Scheduled monthly pay before tax, excluding overtime and bonuses, so it is not comparable to the annual figures above. Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025, via e-Stat, under the Japanese Government Standard Terms of Use. The category match was made by hand.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Plant and machine operators and assemblers”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Plant and machine operators and assemblers, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€39,630
Netherlands	€37,567
Austria	€37,304
Sweden	€36,005
Germany	€34,433
Ireland	€32,617
France	€28,550
Italy	€28,330
Spain	€24,409
Portugal	€11,309
Poland	€10,259

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -0.50. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (53-4011).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

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