Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators
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.
A wage reference for United States.
Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.
This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.
May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.
Annual wage thresholds
USD per year
Hourly wage thresholds
USD per hour
| Percentile | Annual wage (USD/year) | Hourly wage (USD/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $45,640 | $21.94 |
| 25th | $51,280 | $24.65 |
| 50th · Median | $70,070 | $33.69 |
| 75th | $81,670 | $39.27 |
| 90th | $87,420 | $42.03 |
“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.
Where does your number sit?
Compare an entered wage with the published thresholds for United States. Your entry stays on this page.
This compares wage amounts to published percentile thresholds. It does not estimate your personal percentile, adjust for your experience, or compare total compensation. Match the wage definition and occupation group before using the result.
What this career involves.
Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.
Selected title examples
Expand more title examples (23)
Typical 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.
Expand more tasks (20)
- Raise rails, using hydraulic jacks, to allow for tie removal and replacement.
- Lubricate machines, change oil, or fill hydraulic reservoirs to specified levels.
- Drill holes through rails, tie plates, or fishplates for insertion of bolts or spikes, using power drills.
- Drive vehicles that automatically move and lay tracks or rails over sections of track to be constructed, repaired, or maintained.
- Clean tracks or clear ice or snow from tracks or switch boxes.
- Dress and reshape worn or damaged railroad switch points or frogs, using portable power grinders.
- Clean or make minor repairs to machines or equipment.
- Observe leveling indicator arms to verify levelness and alignment of tracks.
- Operate single- or multiple-head spike pullers to pull old spikes from ties.
- Grind ends of new or worn rails to attain smooth joints, using portable grinders.
- Clean, grade, or level ballast on railroad tracks.
- Weld sections of track together, such as switch points and frogs.
- Spray ties, fishplates, or joints with oil to protect them from weathering.
- String and attach wire-guidelines machine to rails so that tracks or rails can be aligned or leveled.
- Push controls to close grasping devices on track or rail sections so that they can be raised or moved.
- Adjust controls of machines that spread, shape, raise, level, or align track, according to specifications.
- Paint railroad signs, such as speed limits or gate-crossing warnings.
- Drive graders, tamping machines, brooms, or ballast spreading machines to redistribute gravel or ballast between rails.
- Turn wheels of machines, using lever controls, to adjust guidelines for track alignments or grades, following specifications.
- Operate tie-adzing machines to cut ties and permit insertion of fishplates that hold rails.
Skills used in this work
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Expand more skills (29)
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
Explore wages by location.
0 retained state and local wage references are available. Start with these selected locations, or search the full market directory for this career.
Local wage references are not retained for this occupation. The national view and employer evidence may still help.
Available links reflect retained source coverage for this career.
Find the next step that fits.
Look at current disclosed job ranges, explore supported employer salary evidence, or build a proposed hiring range with your own assumptions.