Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators

High Risk
Low High

Explore safer careers (5)

Lower estimated automation risk

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Why it fits

Experienced operators can coordinate crews, equipment deployment, safety briefings, and production schedules.

Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines
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Equipment checks, hydraulics exposure, fault awareness, and field maintenance support a mechanic path.

Signal and Track Switch Repairers
45% automation risk | Moderate Risk
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Why it fits

Rail infrastructure knowledge, track switches, field safety, inspections, and repair routines overlap strongly.

Transportation Inspectors
36% automation risk | Low Risk
Pays better More jobs
27.4 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Applies rail safety, equipment condition checks, documentation, and regulatory attention to inspection work.

Highway Maintenance Workers
53% automation risk | Moderate Risk
More jobs
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Why it fits

Reuses right-of-way maintenance, outdoor repair, signs or barriers, weather response, and crew safety.

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Occupation snapshot

What does this snowflake show?
The Snowflake is a visual summary of the five badges: Automation Risk (calculated), Risk (polled), Growth, Wages and Volume. It gives you an instant snapshot of an occupations profile. The colour of the Snowflake relates to its size. The better the occupation scores in relation to others, the larger and greener the Snowflake becomes.
JOB SCORE
4.2/10
What's this?
Job Score (higher is better):

We rate jobs using four factors. These are:

- Chance of being automated
- Job growth
- Wages
- Volume of available positions

These are some key things to think about when job hunting.

Risk & user votes

Calculated automation risk

63% (High Risk)

High Risk (61-80%): This occupation shows a significant risk of end-to-end replacement by automation. Many core parts of the role may be structured, repeatable, software-driven, or physically predictable enough for AI, machines, or robotic systems to take over. If you work in this area, it may be worth exploring safer related careers or moving towards more human-centred responsibilities.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Human strengths important in this job

These are human abilities and work contexts that are important in this occupation. They may help explain why parts of the role are harder to replace end-to-end, but they are not the only inputs into the automation score.

Decision-making and problem solving

Very important
Why this matters
Analyze information, weigh tradeoffs, and choose the best solution—especially when situations are ambiguous, high-stakes, or have real-world consequences.
Jobs that also use this strength

Thinking creatively

Quite important
Why this matters
Coming up with original ideas and designs—creating new concepts, products, systems, or artistic work. This kind of open-ended invention and taste-based judgment is harder to automate end-to-end than routine, rule-based tasks.
Jobs that also use this strength

Coordinating others’ work

Quite important
Why this matters
Bringing people together, assigning tasks, and keeping a group aligned so work gets done.
Jobs that also use this strength

Coaching and developing others

Quite important
Why this matters
Helps people learn and improve through coaching, mentoring, and feedback. This relies on trust, motivation, and adapting guidance to each person—work that’s hard to replace end-to-end with automation.
Jobs that also use this strength

What users think

Based on 25 votes

39% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted there's a low chance this occupation will be automated. However, the automation risk level we have generated suggests a much higher chance of automation: 63% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?

View sentiment trend

Pay & outlook

Wages

Moderately paid relative to other professions

In 2024, the median annual wage for Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators was $67,370 ($32 per hour).

The median annual wage for Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators was 36.1% higher than the national median annual wage, which stood at $49,500.

View wage trend

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Growth

Slow growth relative to other professions.

The number of 'Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators' job openings is expected to rise 1.6% by 2034

View employment trend

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2023 and 2033
Updated projections are due 09-2025.

Volume

Lower range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2024 there were 16,480 people employed as 'Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators' within the United States.

This represents around < 0.001% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 9 thousand people are employed as 'Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators'.

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Job description

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.

O*NET-SOC code: 47-4061.00