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Signal and Track Switch Repairers

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Install, inspect, test, maintain, or repair electric gate crossings, signals, signal equipment, track switches, section lines, or intercommunications systems within a railroad system.

Related: Electrical & Electronics Installers & Repairers, Transportation Equipment Electrical & Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, & Relay Electrical Power-Line Installers & Repairers Power Distributors & Dispatchers Rail Car Repairers

Industries: Transportation & Storage Government

Summary
Details

Inspect, maintain, and replace batteries as needed.
Test and repair track circuits.
Replace defective wiring, broken lenses, or burned-out light bulbs.
Lubricate moving parts on gate-crossing mechanisms and swinging signals.
Inspect electrical units of railroad grade crossing gates and repair loose bolts and defective electrical connections and parts.
Install, inspect, maintain, and repair various railroad service equipment on the road or in the shop, including railroad signal systems.
Inspect and test operation, mechanical parts, and circuitry of gate crossings, signals, and signal equipment such as interlocks and hotbox detectors.
Clean lenses of lamps with cloths and solvents.
Inspect and test operation, mechanical parts, and circuitry of gate crossings, signals, and signal equipment such as interlocks and hotbox detectors.
Drive motor vehicles to job sites.
Tighten loose bolts, using wrenches, and test circuits and connections by opening and closing gates.
Inspect electrical units of railroad grade crossing gates and repair loose bolts and defective electrical connections and parts.
Install, inspect, maintain, and repair various railroad service equipment on the road or in the shop, including railroad signal systems.
Inspect switch-controlling mechanisms on trolley wires and in track beds, using hand tools and test equipment.
Record and report information about mileage or track inspected, repairs performed, and equipment requiring replacement.
Test and repair track circuits.
Tighten loose bolts, using wrenches, and test circuits and connections by opening and closing gates.

Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.

Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

92080/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

44.27/hr

Currently Employed

340

Yearly Projected Openings

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

Attention to Detail
Dependability
Self Control
Stress Tolerance
Integrity
Initiative

Adjustable wrenches
Ammeters
Articulating boom lift
Audio spectrum analyzer
Brush cutter
Closed circuit television CCTV system
Crimping pliers
Digital cameras
Forklifts
Frequency analyzers
Hammers
Inkjet fax machine
Inkjet printers
Lifts
Megohmmeters
Notebook computers
Oscilloscopes
Passive infrared sensor
Personal computers
Power drills
Power grinders
Rail joint gap gauge
Rail switching systems
Relay tester
Screwdrivers
Shovels
Slip joint pliers
Specialty wrenches
Stop watch
Voltage or current meters

Electronic mail software
Facilities management software
Industrial control software
Internet browser software
Office suite software
Presentation software
Spreadsheet software
Word processing software

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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Signal and Track Switch Repairers

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES