NOC 74200: Railway yard and track maintenance workers
What railway yard and track maintenance workers do
Railway yard workers regulate yard traffic, couple and uncouple trains and perform related yard activities. Railway track maintenance workers operate machines and equipment to lay, maintain and repair railway tracks. They are employed by railway transport companies.
Main duties
This group performs some or all of the following duties:
- Railway yard workers
- Operate control panel switches from railway yard tower to set traffic signals and to activate train switches that regulate railway traffic in railway yards
- Operate car retarders, turntables and track switches to align locomotives and cars as required for coupling, uncoupling or servicing
- Switch cars according to instructions which indicate the location, disposition and number of cars
- Lubricate moving parts of railway cars and locomotives.
- Railway track maintenance workers
- Operate machines and equipment such as sleeper sliders, anchors, rail lifters, drag drills, drag diggers, rail saws and tie-bar cranes to lay, maintain, repair, and align railway tracks, to transfer, spread, level and tamp ballast around ties and rails and to clear snow from tracks
- Clean and make minor repairs to machines and equipment
- Patrol assigned track sections to identify and report damaged or broken track
- Perform other track maintenance duties as directed.
Job titles under NOC 74200
109 job titles are classified here, including ballast regulator operator - railway, car controller - railway, control tower operator - railway.
- aligner-tamper operator - railway
- anchor-applicator operator - railway
- automatic anchor-applicator operator - railway
- ballast regulator operator - railway
- ballast-equalizer operator - railway
- ballast-leveller operator - railway
- car controller - railway
- car retarder operator - railway yard
- control tower operator - railway
- coupler - railway yard
- fitter tracks - railway
- freight car distributor - railway yard
- gandy dancer - railway
- interlocking cabin switcher - railway yard
- interlocking signal box switcher - railway yard
- journal box greaser - railway yard
- lag bolter operator - railway
- locomotive attendant - railway yard
- locomotive distributor - railway yard
- locomotive engine servicer
- locomotive maintenance attendant
- locomotive servicer
- machine operator - railway
- maintenance of way employee - railway
Employment requirements
- Some secondary school education is usually required.
- Experience as a railway labourer is required.
- On-the-job training is provided.
- Railway yard workers require a Canadian Rail Operating Rules certificate.
Railway yard and track maintenance workers 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 | $26.00/hr | $36.00/hr | $42.00/hr |
Toronto ON | $29.94/hr | $37.00/hr | $40.00/hr |
Montréal QC | $27.21/hr | $36.06/hr | $41.98/hr |
Vancouver Lower Mainland region, BC | $25.00/hr | $33.00/hr | $47.00/hr |
Calgary AB | $28.61/hr | $36.51/hr | $44.94/hr |
Edmonton AB | $26.97/hr | $35.68/hr | $44.15/hr |
Ottawa ON | $27.56/hr | $35.27/hr | $51.66/hr |
Winnipeg MB | $23.00/hr | $35.00/hr | $40.44/hr |
Québec City Quebec region, QC | $33.30/hr | $38.50/hr | $40.00/hr |
Kitchener-Waterloo Kitchener–Waterloo–Barrie region, ON | $28.12/hr | $35.47/hr | $44.15/hr |
Saskatoon Saskatoon–Biggar region, SK | $28.54/hr | $36.72/hr | $47.17/hr |
Regina Regina–Moose Mountain region, SK | $28.64/hr | $34.09/hr | $42.28/hr |
| Where | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
Newfoundland and Labrador | $29.27/hr | $40.57/hr | $50.98/hr |
Nova Scotia | $20.61/hr | $28.35/hr | $41.07/hr |
New Brunswick | $27.88/hr | $34.00/hr | $42.00/hr |
Quebec | $33.30/hr | $38.50/hr | $40.00/hr |
Ontario | $28.85/hr | $37.00/hr | $40.00/hr |
Manitoba | $23.90/hr | $35.00/hr | $41.00/hr |
Saskatchewan | $26.52/hr | $34.19/hr | $44.41/hr |
Alberta | $26.82/hr | $35.64/hr | $45.52/hr |
British Columbia | $25.00/hr | $33.00/hr | $43.00/hr |
Using NOC 74200 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 109 titles above are how the same work is named across employers.
Not in this group
Similar jobs classified under a different NOC code:
- Contractors and supervisors, heavy equipment operator crews (NOC 72021)
- Railway and motor transport labourers (NOC 75211)
- Railway conductors and brakemen/women (NOC 73311)
- Supervisors, railway transport operations (NOC 72023)
Frequently asked questions
What is the NOC code for railway yard and track maintenance workers?
Railway yard and track maintenance workers are NOC 2021 unit group 74200. Example job titles in this group include ballast regulator operator - railway, car controller - railway, control tower operator - railway, machine operator - railway.
What TEER is NOC 74200?
NOC 74200 is TEER 4 (High school and on-the-job training). Usually requires completion of secondary school, or several weeks of on-the-job training. TEER 4 and 5 work does not count as skilled work experience for Express Entry’s Federal Skilled Worker or Canadian Experience Class programs.
How much do railway yard and track maintenance workers earn in Canada?
Job Bank's 2025 wage data puts the median at $36.00/hr, about $70,000 a year full-time, with a range of $26.00/hr to $42.00/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.