Will AI replace Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers?
Estimated risk score: 18 out of 100
Very low replacement risk
Estimate from published task research, not reviewed by a person · how we estimate
Within about 19 points for 4 in 5 of the jobs we checked (0 to 37).
For the occupation as a whole, from ratings of its 28 O*NET tasks published in 2023 and calibrated to our hand scores. A specialty inside it can sit higher or lower.
O*NET-SOC 53-4022.00 · Transportation and Material Moving
Tasks rated in 2023 as ones AI could do or speed up
Tasks a GPT-4-class model could do, or do in half the time or less: 5 of its 28 rated tasks; the first 3 are shown. In O*NET’s words.
- Record numbers of cars available, numbers of cars sent to repair stations, and types of service needed.
- Monitor oil, temperature, and pressure gauges on dashboards to determine if engines are operating safely and efficiently.
- Receive oral or written instructions from yardmasters or yard conductors indicating track assignments and cars to be switched.
Tasks rated in 2023 as not sped up by AI
Tasks such a model was rated as not speeding up or taking over: 20 of its 28 rated tasks; the first 6 are shown. In O*NET’s words.
- Check to see that trains are equipped with supplies such as fuel, water, and sand.
- Climb ladders to tops of cars to set brakes.
- Connect air hoses to cars, using wrenches.
- Inspect couplings, air hoses, journal boxes, and handbrakes to ensure that they are securely fastened and functioning properly.
- Make minor repairs to couplings, air hoses, and journal boxes, using hand tools.
- Observe signals from other crew members so that work activities can be coordinated.
What the job is
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.
Also called: Railroad Switchman, Locomotive Switch Operator, Nipper, Coupler, Snapper, Trailer, Car Rider, Set Rider.
Closest jobs we score by hand
In the same field (Transportation and Material Moving). Different jobs, each scored by a person.
Source. This site includes information from the O*NET 30.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. (O*NET, CC BY 4.0.) Task ratings: Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin and Rock (2023), “GPTs are GPTs: An Early Look at the Labor Market Impact Potential of Large Language Models”, data used under the MIT licence (licence texts). Our change: we averaged the ratings over this occupation’s tasks and calibrated them to our 0–100 scale. It is not a prediction about any one person and not career advice. Disagree? Write to hello@yourstopwashit.com. How we estimate