Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers
Operate or monitor railroad track switches or locomotive instruments. May couple or uncouple rolling stock to make up or break up trains. Watch for and relay traffic signals. May inspect couplings, air hoses, journal boxes, and hand brakes. May watch for dragging equipment or obstacles on rights-of-way.
This is a specialization of
Rail Transportation WorkersCareer Overview Video
AI Impact Assessment
AI Resilience Score
Score 3/6: low AI task exposure, limited human advantage means AI will assist but humans remain essential
How we calculated this:
17% of tasks can be accelerated by AI
+1% projected (2024-2034)
EPOCH score: 10/25
Key Responsibilities
- Observe train signals along routes and verify their meanings for engineers.
- Signal locomotive engineers to start or stop trains when coupling or uncoupling cars, using hand signals, lanterns, or radio communication.
- Pull or push track switches to reroute cars.
- Observe signals from other crew members so that work activities can be coordinated.
- Monitor trains as they go around curves to detect dragging equipment and smoking journal boxes.
- Inspect couplings, air hoses, journal boxes, and handbrakes to ensure that they are securely fastened and functioning properly.
- Observe tracks from left sides of locomotives to detect obstructions on tracks.
- Operate locomotives in emergency situations.
- Raise levers to couple and uncouple cars for makeup and breakup of trains.
- Climb ladders to tops of cars to set brakes.
Education & Training
Typical Entry Education
Bachelor's degree
Time to Job Ready
0-1 years
Based on Job Zone 2. For formal education duration only, see education_duration.
Technology Skills
Key Abilities
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Find jobs and training programs for railroad brake, signal, and switch operators and locomotive firers- Median salary: $64K/year
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Compensation Details
Based on 13,610 employed workers
Also Known As
Data from O*NET 30.1 and BLS Occupational Employment Statistics
O*NET Code: 53-4022.00