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Rail track maintenance worker

Rail track maintenance workers inspect and repair railway tracks, bridges, tunnels and viaducts.

Annual Salary

£28,000 to £43,000

Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)

Working hours

42 to 47 a week

You could work: evenings / weekends / bank holidays; on shifts

Day to day tasks

As a rail track maintenance worker, you would:

  • lay and repair railway tracks, sleepers and ballast
  • inspect track condition and check for defects
  • maintain tunnels, embankments, bridges and drainage
  • clear obstacles after bad weather and report incidents
  • follow strict safety rules

Working environment

You may need to wear safety clothing and use safety equipment.

You could work on rail tracks.

Your working environment may be physically demanding and outdoors in all weathers.

You can get into this job through:

  • a college course
  • an apprenticeship
  • applying directly
College

You might find it useful to take an engineering qualification at college before looking for work as a trainee.

Courses include:

  • engineering operations
  • mechanical engineering
  • maintenance engineering technology

Apprenticeship

You could apply to do a Rail Engineering Operative Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship, or Rail Engineering Technician Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship.

You can find apprenticeships with companies like Network Rail and Transport for London.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
For more information
  • equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
  • guide to apprenticeships|https://www.gov.uk/apprenticeships-guide
  • Network Rail apprenticeships|https://www.networkrail.co.uk/careers/apprenticeships/
  • Transport for London apprenticeships|https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/careers/apprenticeships
Direct application

If you're over 18, you could look for rail track maintenance worker vacancies. You'll usually start as a trainee.

You'll find it useful to have:

  • experience of manual work in a related role like construction or engineering
  • GCSEs including English and maths

Further information

You can find out more about working in rail engineering from:

Requirements and restrictions

You'll need to:

  • As a rail track maintenance worker, you'll work in a safety critical environment around live wires and on train tracks. You'll have a medical as part of the selection process. This will include checks of your hearing and vision.
  • You might also need to:take regular drug and alcohol checks; have a driving licence so you can drive rail company vehicles; live no more than an hour away from the location you wish to work

More information

There is not enough data for this job to find employment statistics

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With experience, you could be promoted to team supervisor or team leader.

With further training, you could become:an engineering technician; a track inspector or project manager; an engineering surveyor or track designer

Skills required and how your skills match up

What skills are required?

You'll need:

  • knowledge of engineering science and technology
  • knowledge of building and construction
  • the ability to use, repair and maintain machines and tools
  • the ability to work well with others
  • excellent verbal communication skills
  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • to be flexible and open to change
  • problem-solving skills
  • to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device
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