Railroad brake, signal, or switch operator
Operates railroad track switches or locomotive instruments, couples and uncouples train cars, and watches for and passes on traffic signals.
Will AI replace railroad brake, signal, or switch operator jobs?
AI changes jobs more often than it replaces them. How much AI can help with this work: Low. More AI overlap than 6 in 100 jobs. AI touches a small part of this work. Most of the job happens with your hands, your body or in person. 0% of this job’s working time is already spent on tasks people bring to AI at work (Anthropic Economic Index). Based on Microsoft research on real AI use at work, matched to the tasks of each job in O*NET.
What AI already helps with
- Receive instructions from yardmasters about track assignments and cars to switch
- Record cars available, sent for repair, and types of service needed
- Monitor trains going around curves for dragging equipment and smoking axle boxes
What stays human
- Inspect couplings, air hoses, and handbrakes to make sure they are secure
- Raise levers to couple and uncouple cars when making up trains
- Pull or push track switches to reroute cars
10-year outlook · USA
Expected change in the number of these jobs by 2035: +0.8%. Typical pay: $68,840 a year. US Bureau of Labor Statistics. German figures differ, but the direction is usually similar.
Try Railroad brake, signal, or switch operator for a day
MAYBE finds someone who does this work and sets up a real day with them. You see the job up close, including how AI shows up in it, and then we help you make sense of what you felt.
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