How to become a Signal and Track Switch Repairer

Official title: Signal and Track Switch Repairers

Also called: Railroad Signal Maintainer, Signal and Communications Maintainer, Signal Inspector, Signal Maintainer, Signal Maintenance Technician, Signal System Testing Maintainer, Signal Technician, Signalman, Train Control Electronic Technician, Train Control Technician

Install, inspect, test, maintain, or repair electric gate crossings, signals, signal equipment, track switches, section lines, or intercommunications systems within a railroad system.

Main tasks

• Inspect and test operation, mechanical parts, and circuitry of gate crossings, signals, and signal equipment such as interlocks and hotbox detectors.
• Inspect electrical units of railroad grade crossing gates and repair loose bolts and defective electrical connections and parts.
• Test and repair track circuits.
• Drive motor vehicles to job sites.
• Install, inspect, maintain, and repair various railroad service equipment on the road or in the shop, including railroad signal systems.
• Tighten loose bolts, using wrenches, and test circuits and connections by opening and closing gates.
• Inspect switch-controlling mechanisms on trolley wires and in track beds, using hand tools and test equipment.
• Replace defective wiring, broken lenses, or burned-out light bulbs.

How to become one

Typical education to start: High school diploma or equivalent

Ways in

• Apprenticeship: Electric-Track-Switch Main.
• Apprenticeship: Signal Maintainer (Rr Tran).
• Apprenticeship: Signals Maintainer.

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

• Median pay: $92,460 a year The middle half earn $79,720 to $99,320.
• About 8,700 people work in this job now, and about 8,900 are projected by 2035. (+1.8%)
• People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Signal and Track Switch Repairer?

Ways in include: Electric-Track-Switch Main.

How much does a Signal and Track Switch Repairer earn in the US?

Median full-time pay is $92,460 a year (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). The middle half earn $79,720 to $99,320.

Is a Signal and Track Switch Repairer a growing career in the US?

Employment is projected to stay about the same by 2035: about 8,700 people now and 8,900 later (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Do you need a degree to become a Signal and Track Switch Repairer?

Usually not. Only 12% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Ways in include: Electric-Track-Switch Main.

Will AI change the work of a Signal and Track Switch Repairer?

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.