What is 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.
What Do Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators Do On a Daily Basis?
- Clean, grade, or level ballast on railroad tracks.
- Adjust controls of machines that spread, shape, raise, level, or align track, according to specifications.
- Clean or make minor repairs to machines or equipment.
- Operate track-wrench machines to tighten or loosen bolts at joints that hold ends of rails together.
- Drill holes through rails, tie plates, or fishplates for insertion of bolts or spikes, using power drills.
- Engage mechanisms that lay tracks or rails to specified gauges.
Rail-Track Laying & Maintenance Equipment Operator Skills
Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators state the following job skills are important in their day-to-day work.
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
- Section Hand
- Track Welder
- Track Layer
- Track Worker
- Railway Equipment Operator
Is There Going to be Demand for Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators?
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. Due to new job openings and attrition, there will be an average of 1,500 job openings in this field each 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.
Salary for a Rail-Track Laying & Maintenance Equipment Operator
The salary for Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators ranges between about $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.
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 |
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
Learn what Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operator education requirements there are.
What work experience do I need to become a Rail-Track Laying & Maintenance Equipment Operator?
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 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
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