Railway Engineers and Technicians

How to become a Railway Traction and Locomotive Engineer

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 铁道机务工程技术人员

Manages the use of locomotives and traction equipment, and the design, maintenance, testing, inspection and production oversight of locomotives and depot equipment.

Main tasks

Setting technical standards for locomotive operations and seeing them applied
Organising and managing safe operations in locomotive use, traction, maintenance, servicing, rescue, dispatching and the running of multiple unit trains
Analysing production, safety, quality and energy use figures for locomotive operations
Setting technical standards and specifications for locomotives and their parts
Designing, testing, inspecting and overseeing the manufacture of locomotives and parts, and giving technical support for production and maintenance
Setting technical standards for locomotive maintenance and servicing equipment and train safety equipment
Designing, inspecting and accepting locomotive maintenance and servicing equipment and train safety equipment, and giving technical support for production
Drawing up locomotive use, rescue and engineering works plans, preparing locomotive rosters, carrying out traction calculations and related tests, and guiding drivers in handling locomotives

Ways in

University: Engineering degrees, Offered by 105 universities in China Related undergraduate subject classes in the Ministry of Education catalogue (2025): Transportation (0818); majors such as Transportation, Traffic Engineering, Marine Navigation, Marine Engineering, Flight Technology, Transportation Equipment and Control Engineering. Matched to the occupation by Peernovo.
Vocational majors: Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Intelligent Railway Locomotive Operation Technology (300104). Vocational major 300104 Intelligent Railway Locomotive Operation Technology (铁道机车智能运用技术), 4 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向).

Pay · AI and this job

Median pay in China: CN¥79,500 a year (2025).
Middle half: CN¥55,200 to CN¥123,700. One in ten earn less than CN¥42,000 and one in ten more than CN¥192,300.
This is the figure for the mid group Engineering and Technical Personnel, not for this job alone.
National figure: wage prices of enterprise employees from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) enterprise pay survey. The public sector and the self-employed are not covered.
Guangzhou only: median CN¥116,181 a year (2025), middle half CN¥77,050 to CN¥175,622.
This is the figure for the mid group Engineering and Technical Personnel, not for this job alone.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

The census group Engineering and Technical Personnel holds 2.35% of everyone employed in China; 17.1% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
48.9% are under 35, 45.1% are 35 to 54 and 6% are 55 or older. The middle age band is 35 to 39.
Census figures for the whole mid group (2020 long-form sample), not for this job alone.

Questions people ask

How do I become a Railway Traction and Locomotive Engineer?

Ways in include: Engineering degrees; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Intelligent Railway Locomotive Operation Technology (300104).

How much does a Railway Traction and Locomotive Engineer earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥79,500 a year (Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS), 2025). The public sector and the self-employed are not covered. It is the figure for the mid group Engineering and Technical Personnel. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥116,181 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of a Railway Traction and Locomotive Engineer?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS): 2025 enterprise pay survey information: wage prices of enterprise employees by occupation mid group, and digital occupations (P10 to P90 annual CNY) (2025 (published 2026-07-08)), retrieved 5 October 2026
Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau: Guangzhou 2025 labour market wage prices (P10 to P90 annual CNY by occupation) (2025 (enterprise pay survey)), retrieved 4 October 2026
National Bureau of Statistics of China: China Population Census Yearbook 2020, long-form tables 4-6 and 4-7 (employed by occupation mid group, sex, age) (2020 Census long form (10% sample)), retrieved 4 October 2026
International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

Sources: Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition, public consultation draft), Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, State Administration for Market Regulation and National Bureau of Statistics; Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, 2025 enterprise pay survey information; Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, 2025 labour market wage prices; National Bureau of Statistics of China (www.stats.gov.cn), 2020 Population Census yearbook; Ministry of Education, vocational education major profiles (2022 revision) and undergraduate major catalogue (2025); Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, national vocational qualifications catalogue (2021); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Figures processed by Peernovo. English text, translations and the matching of occupations to ISCO-08, majors, degree fields and qualifications by Peernovo.

Descriptions and tasks are Peernovo's own words, written from the facts in the Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition). Job titles and work types are the classification's own.

Updated 5 October 2026