Rail Transit Services Workers Green occupation

How to become a Train Driver

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 轨道交通列车司机

Also called: Electric Locomotive Driver, High Speed Train Driver, Diesel Locomotive Driver, Metro Train Driver, Industrial Locomotive Driver, Electric Power Car Train Driver, Diesel Power Car Train Driver, Metro Engineering Train Driver

Drives locomotives, multiple unit trains, metro and light rail trains and engineering trains, carrying passengers and freight.

Main tasks

Receiving, recording and passing on train running instructions and orders
Testing the technical performance of locomotives, multiple units, metro trains or engineering trains and handing over between crews
Driving to the assigned line and position, coupling vehicles and testing the train's brakes and electrics
Driving the train in coordination with control
Checking key parts of the train on the way and on arrival and handling faults en route
Filling in logs and reports and signing off duty

Ways in

Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Railway Logistics Management (530804). Vocational major 530804 Railway Logistics Management (铁路物流管理), 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: Logistics Management; Multimodal Transport Organisation and Management.; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Diesel Locomotive Operation and Maintenance (700103). Vocational major 700103 Diesel Locomotive Operation and Maintenance (内燃机车运用与检修), 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: Train Driver.; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Electric Locomotive Operation and Maintenance (700102). Vocational major 700102 Electric Locomotive Operation and Maintenance (电力机车运用与检修), 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: Train Driver.; 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).
National qualification: Licence to practise: Train Driver. You need this qualification to work in the job. Listed in the national vocational qualifications catalogue (国家职业资格目录, 2021) as Train Driver (轨道列车司机), run by Transport Authorities; National Railway Administration. Peernovo links it to this occupation.

Pay · AI and this job

Median pay in China: CN¥63,600 a year (2025).
Middle half: CN¥47,800 to CN¥89,000. One in ten earn less than CN¥36,000 and one in ten more than CN¥121,300.
This is the figure for the mid group Transport, Warehousing, Logistics and Postal Services 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¥156,377 a year (2025), middle half CN¥140,586 to CN¥185,656.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

The census group Transport, Warehousing, Logistics and Postal Services Workers holds 6.05% of everyone employed in China; 14.2% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
32.9% are under 35, 58.1% are 35 to 54 and 9% are 55 or older. The middle age band is 40 to 44.
Census figures for the whole mid group (2020 long-form sample), not for this job alone.

Questions people ask

How do I become a Train Driver?

Ways in include: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Railway Logistics Management (530804); Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Diesel Locomotive Operation and Maintenance (700103).

How much does a Train Driver earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥63,600 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 Transport, Warehousing, Logistics and Postal Services Workers. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥156,377 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of a Train Driver?

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
Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, State Administration for Market Regulation, National Bureau of Statistics: Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China, 2022 edition (public consultation draft) (2022 public consultation draft (1,636 occupations; final edition 1,639)), 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