Signal and Track Switch Repairers
Install, inspect, test, maintain, or repair electric gate crossings, signals, signal equipment, track switches, section lines, or intercommunications systems within a railroad system.
8,720 people do this job in the US. $92,460 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 4%
- 0%
- 96%
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, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 4%. Today's estimate: 4%.
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 . 12 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Install, inspect, maintain, and repair various railroad service equipment on the road or in the shop, including railroad signal systems.Done daily by most who do it. | 40% | 3.3 h50 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Inspect and test operation, mechanical parts, and circuitry of gate crossings, signals, and signal equipment such as interlocks and hotbox detectors.Done daily by most who do it. | 11% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Test and repair track circuits.Done daily by most who do it. | 9% | 1.7 h38 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Drive motor vehicles to job sites.Done daily by most who do it. | 9% | 29 min13 min to 1.1 h | Stays with people | |
| Inspect electrical units of railroad grade crossing gates and repair loose bolts and defective electrical connections and parts.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 50 min17 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Tighten loose bolts, using wrenches, and test circuits and connections by opening and closing gates.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Inspect, maintain, and replace batteries as needed.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 5% | 50 min17 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Record and report information about mileage or track inspected, repairs performed, and equipment requiring replacement.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 25 min8 min to 50 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Inspect switch-controlling mechanisms on trolley wires and in track beds, using hand tools and test equipment.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 3% | 1.3 h25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Replace defective wiring, broken lenses, or burned-out light bulbs.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 3% | 38 min13 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Lubricate moving parts on gate-crossing mechanisms and swinging signals.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 1% | 25 min13 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Clean lenses of lamps with cloths and solvents.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 0.7% | 17 min8 min to 38 min | 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.
- Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay19% now, 19% by 2028
- Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers2% now, 2% by 2028
- Electrical and Electronics Installers and Repairers, Transportation Equipment8% now, 8% by 2028
- Rail Car Repairers3% now, 3% by 2028
- Avionics Technicians6% now, 15% by 2028
- Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door1% now, 1% 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).