How to become a Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operator

Official title: Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators

Also called: Machine Operator, Track Equipment Operator (TEO), Track Inspector, Track Laborer, Track Maintainer, Track Repair Person, Track Repairer, Track Service Person, Track Walker, Trackman

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.

Main tasks

• Repair or adjust track switches, using wrenches and replacement parts.
• Patrol assigned track sections so that damaged or broken track can be located and reported.
• Engage mechanisms that lay tracks or rails to specified gauges.
• Cut rails to specified lengths, using rail saws.
• Operate single- or multiple-head spike driving machines to drive spikes into ties and secure rails.
• Operate track wrenches to tighten or loosen bolts at joints that hold ends of rails together.
• Raise rails, using hydraulic jacks, to allow for tie removal and replacement.
• Lubricate machines, change oil, or fill hydraulic reservoirs to specified levels.

How to become one

Typical education to start: High school diploma or equivalent

Ways in

• Apprenticeship: Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Technician.

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

• Median pay: $70,070 a year The middle half earn $51,280 to $81,670.
• About 17,400 people work in this job now, and about 17,700 are projected by 2035. (+1.5%)
• People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Related jobs

• Construction and Building Inspectors
• Energy Auditors
• Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers
• Fence Erectors
• Hazardous Materials Removal Workers
• Highway Maintenance Workers

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operator?

Ways in include: Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Technician.

How much does a Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operator earn in the US?

Median full-time pay is $70,070 a year (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). The middle half earn $51,280 to $81,670.

Is a Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operator a growing career in the US?

Employment is projected to stay about the same by 2035: about 17,400 people now and 17,700 later (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Do you need a degree to become a Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operator?

Usually not. Only 5% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Ways in include: Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Technician.

Will AI change the work of a Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operator?

People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Sources

• Microsoft Research: Working with AI: AI applicability by occupation (2025-12-22 (built on O*NET 29.0)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employment Projections (2025-35 (released 2026-08-27)), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.