How to become a Rolling Stock Fitter

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 铁路车辆制修工

Also called: Freight Wagon Examiner, Passenger Carriage Examiner, Rolling Stock Fitter, Wheelset Fitter, Trackside Train Examiner, Train Inspection Duty Officer and Rolling Stock Electrician, Generator Car Attendant

Uses tools and equipment to build, assemble, overhaul and test the mechanical, electrical and other systems of railway carriages and wagons.

Main tasks

• Assembling, testing and overhauling vehicle components and commissioning finished vehicles
• Assembling, testing and overhauling vehicle running gear
• Checking and monitoring how vehicles are running and dealing with faults
• Assembling, testing and overhauling vehicle brake systems, brake gear and pipework
• Testing and checking vehicle circuits and electrical equipment and fixing faults
• Assembling, testing and overhauling safety, communications, heating and other auxiliary equipment
• Assembling, testing, overhauling, operating and monitoring diesel generator sets and air conditioning units
• Checking and fixing faults on vehicles in service

Ways in

• Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: EMU Maintenance Technology (500108). Vocational major 500108 EMU Maintenance Technology (动车组检修技术), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Rail Transit Electrical Equipment Assembly and Setup.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Railway Rolling Stock Manufacturing and Maintenance (460401). Vocational major 460401 Railway Rolling Stock Manufacturing and Maintenance (铁道机车车辆制造与维护), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Rail Transit Electrical Equipment Assembly and Setup.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Urban Rail Transit Vehicle Manufacturing and Maintenance (460403). Vocational major 460403 Urban Rail Transit Vehicle Manufacturing and Maintenance (城市轨道交通车辆制造与维护), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Rail Transit Vehicle Mechanical Maintenance; Rail Transit Vehicle Overhaul; Rail Transit Electrical Equipment Assembly and Setup.; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Railway Vehicle Operation and Maintenance (700104). Vocational major 700104 Railway Vehicle Operation and Maintenance (铁道车辆运用与检修), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Rail Transit Equipment Nondestructive Testing; Rail Transit Equipment Welding; Rail Transit Electrical Equipment Assembly and Setup.; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Rail Transit Vehicle Engineering Technology (260401). Vocational major 260401 Rail Transit Vehicle Engineering Technology (轨道交通车辆工程技术), 4 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Rail Transit Electrical Equipment Assembly and Setup; Rail Transit Equipment Nondestructive Testing.

Pay · AI and this job

• Median pay in China: CN¥80,500 a year (2025).
• Middle half: CN¥56,100 to CN¥119,300. One in ten earn less than CN¥46,300 and one in ten more than CN¥151,200.
• This is the figure for the mid group Railway, Ship and Aerospace Equipment Manufacturing Workers, 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¥116,955 a year (2025), middle half CN¥60,272 to CN¥148,272.
• This is the figure for the mid group Railway, Ship and Aerospace Equipment Manufacturing Workers, 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 Railway, Ship and Aerospace Equipment Manufacturing Workers holds 0.08% of everyone employed in China; 24.3% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
• 38.4% are under 35, 54% are 35 to 54 and 7.6% 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.

Related jobs

• Railway Points Fitter
• Locomotive Fitter
• High Speed Train Technician
• Railway Brake Fitter

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Rolling Stock Fitter?

Ways in include: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: EMU Maintenance Technology (500108); Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Railway Rolling Stock Manufacturing and Maintenance (460401).

How much does a Rolling Stock Fitter earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥80,500 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 Railway, Ship and Aerospace Equipment Manufacturing Workers. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥116,955 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of a Rolling Stock Fitter?

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