Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers
Drive switching or other locomotive or dinkey engines within railroad yard, industrial plant, quarry, construction project, or similar location.
3,920 people do this job in the US. $60,600 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 12%
- 4%
- 83%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 4%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 12%. Today's estimate: 12%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 23 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drive engines within railroad yards or other establishments to couple, uncouple, or switch railroad cars.Done daily by most who do it. | 18% | 33 min13 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Spot cars for loading and unloading at customer locations.Done daily by most who do it. | 10% | 25 min13 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Perform routine repair and maintenance duties.Done daily by most who do it. | 9% | 1.3 h25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Inspect track for defects such as broken rails and switch malfunctions.Done daily by most who do it. | 9% | 25 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Inspect the condition of stationary trains, rolling stock, and equipment.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 25 min13 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Inspect engines before and after use to ensure proper operation.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Read switching instructions and daily car schedules to determine work to be performed, or receive orders from yard conductors.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Confer with conductors and other workers via radiotelephones or computers to exchange switching information.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 4% | 8 min3 min to 17 min | Stays with people | |
| Drive locomotives to and from various stations in roundhouses to have locomotives cleaned, serviced, repaired, or supplied.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 25 min8 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Couple and uncouple air hoses and electrical connections between cars.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 8 min4 min to 17 min | Stays with people | |
| Report arrival and departure times, train delays, work order completion, and time on duty.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 10 min4 min to 21 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Operate flatcars equipped with derricks or railcars to transport personnel or equipment.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 3% | 38 min17 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers7% now, 7% by 2028
- Locomotive Engineers3% now, 3% by 2028
- Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters32% now, 33% by 2028
- Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists0% now, 0% by 2028
- Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators9% now, 9% by 2028
- Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators0% now, 0% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).