Construction and Extraction · Holland code RC
Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators
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.
Also called: Track Inspector, Track Laborer, Track Maintainer, Track Repairer, Machine Operator, Track Equipment Operator (TEO), Track Repair Person, Track Service Person.
O*NET 47-4061.00
At a glance
- US median annual pay
- $70,070
- Middle half earn $51,280 to $81,670. 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.
- Repair or adjust track switches, using wrenches and replacement parts.
- Patrol assigned track sections so that damaged or broken track can be located and reported.
- Engage mechanisms that lay tracks or rails to specified gauges.
- Cut rails to specified lengths, using rail saws.
- Operate single- or multiple-head spike driving machines to drive spikes into ties and secure rails.
- Operate track wrenches to tighten or loosen bolts at joints that hold ends of rails together.
- Raise rails, using hydraulic jacks, to allow for tie removal and replacement.
- Adjust controls of machines that spread, shape, raise, level, or align track, according to specifications.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Active Listening3.0 / 5
- Monitoring3.0 / 5
- Critical Thinking2.8 / 5
- Speaking2.6 / 5
- Active Learning2.5 / 5
- Learning Strategies2.5 / 5
Knowledge areas
- Public Safety and Security3.8 / 5
- Transportation3.8 / 5
- Mechanical3.7 / 5
- Production and Processing3.6 / 5
- Mathematics3.5 / 5
- Building and Construction3.5 / 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
- Investigative12
- Artistic0
- Social0
- Enterprising0
- Conventional52
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)
- rail maintenance technician · DE Schieneninstandhaltungstechniker/Schieneninstandhaltungstechnikerin · FR technicien entretien infrastructure ferroviaire/technicienne entretien infrastructure ferroviaire
- railway infrastructure inspector · DE Kontrolleur für Eisenbahninfrastruktur/Kontrolleurin für Eisenbahninfrastruktur · FR inspecteur infrastructures ferroviaires/inspectrice infrastructures ferroviaires
- rail construction supervisor · DE Gleisbaupolier/Gleisbaupolierin · FR superviseur de poseurs de voies ferrées/superviseuse de poseurs de voies ferrées
- train conductor · DE Zugbegleiter/Zugbegleiterin · FR contrôleur de train/contrôleuse de train
- level crossing signalperson · DE Schrankenwärter/Schrankenwärterin · FR garde barrière
- rail switchperson · DE Weichenwärter/Weichenwärterin · FR aiguilleur du réseau ferré/aiguilleuse du réseau ferré
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Construction and building trades supervisors (5330)53,100 employed
- Elementary storage occupations n.e.c. (9259)12,000 employed
- Delivery operatives (9253)21,800 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.
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.
| 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 lower third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -1.40. 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 (47-4061).
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