Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators Career, Salary and Skills
Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators have a BLS-reported national median annual wage of $70,070 based on the 2025 OEWS dataset, with reported national employment of 19,580. Wage data is published for 54 locations.
Occupation 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 code
47-4061.00
Job zone
2
Typical education
Not recorded
Experience
None
National salary and employment
Median annual
$70,070
Hourly median
$33.69
Employment
19,580
Data year
2025
National salary distribution
Top skills
| Skill | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Operations Monitoring | 3.75 | 3.12 |
| Operation and Control | 3.75 | 3.00 |
| Equipment Maintenance | 3.25 | 3.00 |
| Repairing | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Quality Control Analysis | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Monitoring | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Active Listening | 3.00 | 2.88 |
| Troubleshooting | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Time Management | 3.00 | 2.88 |
Typical tasks
- 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.
- Raise rails, using hydraulic jacks, to allow for tie removal and replacement.
- Lubricate machines, change oil, or fill hydraulic reservoirs to specified levels.
- Repair or adjust track switches, using wrenches and replacement parts.
Technology
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
- Timekeeping software
Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators salary by location
Areas with the highest reported employment for this occupation.
- Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators Salary in NYMedian $87,150 · Employment 3,590
- Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators Salary in New York, NYMedian $87,150 · Employment 2,710
- Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators Salary in ILMedian $78,910 · Employment 1,190
- Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators Salary in OHMedian $47,980 · Employment 1,130
- Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators Salary in TXMedian $56,470 · Employment 940
- Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators Salary in PAMedian $59,800 · Employment 830
- Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators Salary in CAMedian $71,170 · Employment 770
- Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators Salary in MNMedian $49,640 · Employment 760
- Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators Salary in GAMedian $63,010 · Employment 710
- Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators Salary in MAMedian $94,330 · Employment 570
- Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators Salary in WAMedian $58,740 · Employment 500
- Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators Salary in FLMedian $61,220 · Employment 490
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- PipelayersNational median $49,000
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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.