8143- RAIL CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE OPERATIVES

Job Title: 

RAIL CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE OPERATIVES

Alternate Titles: 

Line Inspector (railways),Maintenance man (railway maintenance and repair),Relayer (railways),Trackman (railways),Ultrasonic engineer (railway maintenance and repair)

Job Description: 

Rail construction and maintenance operatives lay, re-lay, repair and examine railway track and maintain surrounding areas.

Education: 

There are no formal academic entry requirements. Off- and on-the-job training is provided. NVQs/SVQs in Rail Transport Engineering are available at Levels 2 and 3.
Refer The S/NVQ framework for more details

NS-SEC: 

The simplified NS-SEC analytic class for this code is 5
The simplified NS-SEC operational category for this code is 11.2
Refer The National Statistics Socio-economic Classification for more details

Tasks: 


  • patrols length of track and visually inspects rails, bolts, fishplates and chairs for distortion or fracture;
  • checks tightness of bolts and wedges, replaces damaged rail chairs and repacks ballast under sleepers if necessary;
  • lubricates points, examines fences, drains, culverts and embankments and carries out any necessary maintenance;
  • spreads ballast and lays sleepers or metal plates at specified intervals;
  • positions lengths of rail, sets of points and crossovers and secures rail with bolts, wooden wedges or clips;
  • fastens together sections of rail by bolting fishplates to rails.
International Careers(ISCO): 
Similar O*NET Careers (USA) : 
Source Of Info: 

Office of National Statistics UK