Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers Career, Salary and Skills
Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers have a BLS-reported national median annual wage of $68,840 based on the 2025 OEWS dataset, with reported national employment of 12,400. Wage data is published for 29 locations.
Occupation description
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.
O*NET code
53-4022.00
Job zone
2
Typical education
Not recorded
Experience
Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years
National salary and employment
Median annual
$68,840
Hourly median
$33.10
Employment
12,400
Data year
2025
National salary distribution
Top skills
| Skill | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Operations Monitoring | 3.50 | 3.12 |
| Monitoring | 3.38 | 3.12 |
| Coordination | 3.25 | 2.88 |
| Operation and Control | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.00 | 2.50 |
| Critical Thinking | 3.00 | 2.88 |
| Active Listening | 3.00 | 2.50 |
| Speaking | 3.00 | 2.38 |
| Reading Comprehension | 2.88 | 2.25 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 2.88 | 2.50 |
Typical tasks
- Observe train signals along routes and verify their meanings for engineers.
- Inspect couplings, air hoses, journal boxes, and handbrakes to ensure that they are securely fastened and functioning properly.
- Raise levers to couple and uncouple cars for makeup and breakup of trains.
- Pull or push track switches to reroute cars.
- Observe signals from other crew members so that work activities can be coordinated.
- Conduct brake tests to determine the condition of brakes on trains.
- Monitor trains as they go around curves to detect dragging equipment and smoking journal boxes.
- Signal locomotive engineers to start or stop trains when coupling or uncoupling cars, using hand signals, lanterns, or radio communication.
Technology
- Electronic train management system software
- Electronic train management systems ETMS
- Google Android
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
- Microsoft Outlook
- Route mapping software
- Time tracking software
Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers salary by location
Areas with the highest reported employment for this occupation.
- Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers Salary in TXMedian $71,580 · Employment 1,650
- Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers Salary in CAMedian $58,770 · Employment 1,340
- Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers Salary in ILMedian $76,290 · Employment 1,210
- Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers Salary in WAMedian $85,140 · Employment 740
- Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers Salary in MOMedian $67,110 · Employment 730
- Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers Salary in Chicago, ILMedian $72,180 · Employment 560
- Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers Salary in WYMedian $45,490 · Employment 400
- Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers Salary in KSMedian $66,990 · Employment 390
- Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers Salary in PAMedian $55,470 · Employment 350
- Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers Salary in OHMedian $67,770 · Employment 280
- Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers Salary in Houston, TXMedian $47,750 · Employment 270
- Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers Salary in GAMedian $75,540 · Employment 250
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Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0 (onetcenter.org). Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, 2025 (bls.gov/oes). Figures are published survey estimates, not real-time market data.