NOC 72604: Railway traffic controllers and marine traffic regulators
What railway traffic controllers and marine traffic regulators do
Railway traffic controllers coordinate passenger and freight train traffic on railways. They are employed by rail transport companies. Marine traffic regulators monitor and regulate coastal and inland marine traffic within assigned waterways. They are employed by port, harbour, canal and lock authorities and by the Canadian Coast Guard.
Main duties
This group performs some or all of the following duties:
- Railway traffic controllers
- Operate and monitor centralized traffic control systems to coordinate and follow railway traffic
- Chart train movements, calculate arrival and departure times and record rail traffic information
- Issue instructions to control the movement of passenger and freight train traffic and on-track mobile maintenance equipment
- Receive, record and relay train instructions to train crew by hand or radio telephone
- May supervise and train other railway traffic controllers.
- Marine traffic regulators
- Direct and monitor vessel movements using radar or closed circuit monitors, remote radio systems and other telecommunication equipment
- Obtain position, course, speed and estimated arrival time of vessels and monitor vessel progress through traffic zone
- Issue clearance instructions to vessels, advise vessels of traffic volumes and weather conditions, and relay information to next marine traffic control sector
- Report accidents, distress signals, navigational hazards and other emergencies to authorities
- Maintain radio and telephone contact with adjacent marine control sectors and with vessels within area of jurisdiction
- Maintain log of vessel movements, size and structure.
Job titles under NOC 72604
13 job titles are classified here, including chief rail traffic controller, marine traffic regulator, rail traffic controller.
- centralized traffic control (CTC) operator - railway traffic
- centralized traffic controller - railway traffic
- chief rail traffic controller
- chief train dispatcher
- head train dispatcher
- locomotive dispatcher
- marine traffic controller
- marine traffic regulator
- rail traffic controller
- train dispatcher
- train dispatchers supervisor
- train operator
- waterway traffic checker
Employment requirements
- Railway traffic controllers usually require completion of secondary school and several years of experience in the railway industry.
- Up to 35 weeks of a combination of classroom and on-the-job training is provided for railway traffic controllers.
- Railway traffic controllers require a Canadian Rail Operating Rules certificate.
- Marine traffic regulators require completion of secondary school and several months of formal traffic regulator training.
Railway traffic controllers and marine traffic regulators wages in Canada
Low, median and high hourly wages from Job Bank’s 2025 wage data. Annual figures assume full-time work (1,950 hours a year).
| Where | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
Canada | $31.00/hr | $41.00/hr | $54.00/hr |
Toronto ON | $31.63/hr | $44.25/hr | $53.37/hr |
Montréal QC | $33.56/hr | $41.57/hr | $50.42/hr |
Vancouver Lower Mainland region, BC | $32.69/hr | $45.36/hr | $63.78/hr |
Calgary AB | $33.80/hr | $44.21/hr | $55.26/hr |
Edmonton AB | $32.23/hr | $43.27/hr | $54.42/hr |
Ottawa ON | $30.92/hr | $39.98/hr | $47.56/hr |
Québec City Quebec region, QC | $31.00/hr | $41.00/hr | $52.00/hr |
Hamilton Hamilton–Niagara Peninsula region, ON | $29.39/hr | $40.43/hr | $47.22/hr |
Kitchener-Waterloo Kitchener–Waterloo–Barrie region, ON | $32.82/hr | $39.57/hr | $50.31/hr |
Victoria Vancouver Island and Coast region, BC | $27.63/hr | $40.51/hr | $50.63/hr |
| Where | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
Quebec | $31.00/hr | $41.00/hr | $52.00/hr |
Ontario | $30.72/hr | $40.47/hr | $51.03/hr |
Alberta | $31.11/hr | $43.11/hr | $55.83/hr |
British Columbia | $30.20/hr | $42.83/hr | $61.62/hr |
Using NOC 72604 for your resume or Express Entry profile
- IRCC asks you to make sure the main duties listed for your NOC match what you actually did at your job. If they don’t, look for another unit group whose duties do.
- Describe your own work in your own words. Recruiters and ATS software look for concrete tools, results and scope, not text copied from the NOC.
- Applying from outside Canada? Run your resume through the Canadian resume format checker to catch things Canadian employers don’t expect, like a photo or date of birth.
- Use the job title the employer’s posting uses. The 13 titles above are how the same work is named across employers.
Not in this group
Similar jobs classified under a different NOC code:
- Harbour master (NOC 70012)
- Subway traffic controller (NOC 72024)
- Supervisors, railway transport operations (NOC 72023)
Frequently asked questions
What is the NOC code for railway traffic controllers and marine traffic regulators?
Railway traffic controllers and marine traffic regulators are NOC 2021 unit group 72604. Example job titles in this group include chief rail traffic controller, marine traffic regulator, rail traffic controller, train operator.
What TEER is NOC 72604?
NOC 72604 is TEER 2 (College diploma or apprenticeship (2+ years)). Usually requires a 2–3 year college program or a 2–5 year apprenticeship, or the occupation carries supervisory or significant safety responsibilities. TEER 0, 1, 2 and 3 work counts as skilled work experience for Express Entry’s Federal Skilled Worker and Canadian Experience Class programs.
How much do railway traffic controllers and marine traffic regulators earn in Canada?
Job Bank's 2025 wage data puts the median at $41.00/hr, about $80,000 a year full-time, with a range of $31.00/hr to $54.00/hr.
Related occupations
Sources: Statistics Canada, National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021 Version 1.0; Employment and Social Development Canada, Job Bank wages (2025). Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada. OfferJetAI is not affiliated with the Government of Canada. Check IRCC’s NOC guidance before you apply.