How to become a locomotive engine driver
Official title: Locomotive engine drivers
Also called: Locomotive driver, Metropolitan railway driver, Train driver
Locomotive engine drivers drive, or assist in driving, locomotive engines to transport passengers and freight.
Main tasks
- Driving or assisting in driving a steam, electric or diesel-electric locomotive engine
- Driving an underground or elevated passenger train
- Driving a locomotive to haul carriages underground or on the surface of a mine or quarry
- Watching for track hazards and observing signals and indicator gauges
- Operating communications systems to communicate with train crews and traffic controllers to ensure safe operation and scheduling of trains
Pay · Outlook · AI and this job
- Median pay: HK$20,000 a month
- About 387,500 people in 2025, and about 403,200 projected by 2028. (+4.1%)
- Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Related jobs
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Questions people ask
Do you need a degree to become a locomotive engine driver?
Usually not. Only 2% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.
Will AI change the work of a locomotive engine driver?
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- Census and Statistics Department (2021 Population Census): 2021 Population Census, Interactive Data Dissemination Service: working population by occupation (38 groups) and sex, age, education, income; median income and field of education (9 groups) (2021 Population Census), retrieved 4 October 2026
- Census and Statistics Department (General Household Survey): Median monthly employment earnings by occupation (9 groups), excluding foreign domestic helpers (Table 210-06317A); employed persons by occupation, age and sex (210-06307A) and by industry (210-06308A) (2025 annual (series to 2026-07)), retrieved 4 October 2026
- Labour and Welfare Bureau; tables published by C&SD: Mid-term Update of Manpower Projection to 2028: supplementary statistical tables (5 occupation groups, 17 selected industries) (2025 to 2028 (published 2026-09)), 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
Updated 4 October 2026