What does a train engineer do?
A train engineer is responsible for operating train engines and controls to transport passengers from one station to another. Train engineers must have excellent mechanical and organizational skills to drive the train, including speed and battery pressure. They should also be able to interact with the passengers, requiring them to have good communication skills to remind them of the rules and regulations while boarding the train. A train engineer observes the train's engines for possible malfunctions and calls maintenance repairs as necessary to avoid potential hazards and delays.
Train engineer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real train engineer resumes:
- Manage general facilities including commissioning, building management systems, and calibrations for GMP area for tablets production operation.
- Used VRML and Java for interfacing (EAI).
- Gain experience as an EIT.
- Support the scrum development team by resolving impediments.
- Perform asphalt, concrete, and soil testing.
- Optimize department SharePoint site by arranging new folder structure and project tracking numbers.
- Tracked/Report defects and arrange timelines with scrum teams to test and merge fix code.
- Work with GIS data to locate existing utilities, floodplains, city zoning, and etc.
- Study on Linux technical possibilities in graphics (3D acceleration), sounds and videos (APIs).
- Perform voltage drop calculations and power system analysis using AutoCAD.
- Design electrical layouts in commercial & residential buildings using AutoCAD.
- Compose training documentation and PowerPoint lesson plans with extensive lecturing and hands-onoperation of equipment.
- Create training documentation and PowerPoint lesson plans with extensive lecturing and hands-on operation of equipment.
- Gain vast experience installing industrial/commercial HVAC systems, especially direct expansion systems and chill water systems.
- Perform monitoring and preventive maintenance on centrifugal chillers and associate chilled water and condenser water pumps.
Train engineer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 21% of Train Engineers are proficient in Pi Planning, Release Train, and Scrum. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Customer-service skills, and Hand-eye coordination.
We break down the percentage of Train Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Pi Planning, 21%
Facilitated PI planning readiness, Vision, backlogs and facilities.
- Release Train, 17%
Lead 9 scrum teams that define the Card Processing Release Train, a total of 65 team members.
- Scrum, 13%
Incorporated Scrum Events Backlog refinement, Sprint Planning, Stand up meeting, Sprint Review and Sprint Retrospective.
- RTE, 11%
Program Manager, PTE and RTE for CenturyLink's Sales Compensation Applications.
- PI, 7%
Preformed lab test for various soils such as proctors, PI, sieve analysis, etc.
- Continuous Improvement, 7%
Studied for continuous improvement of process lines.
Common skills that a train engineer uses to do their job include "pi planning," "release train," and "scrum." You can find details on the most important train engineer responsibilities below.
Communication skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a train engineer to have is communication skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "railroad workers must be able to communicate with other crewmembers, dispatchers, and passengers to ensure safety and keep the trains on schedule." Train engineers often use communication skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "developed and supervised training programs for new radio systems and data communications devices"
Customer-service skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling train engineer duties is customer-service skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "conductors on passenger trains ensure travelers’ comfort, make announcements, and answer questions." According to a train engineer resume, here's how train engineers can utilize customer-service skills in their job responsibilities: "developed customized training programs tailored to individual customer needs as a paid service. "
Hand-eye coordination. train engineers are also known for hand-eye coordination, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to train engineer responsibilities, because "locomotive engineers must operate controls based, in part, on their observations of the train’s surroundings." A train engineer resume example shows how hand-eye coordination is used in the workplace: "managed bim (autocad) drawings and coordination. "
Hearing ability. A big part of what train engineers do relies on "hearing ability." You can see how essential it is to train engineer responsibilities because "to ensure safety on the train and in the rail yard, railroad workers must be able to hear warning signals and communicate with other employees." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical train engineer tasks: "staff project engineer at medtronic, project engineer at maico hearing instrument, and senior design engineer at control systems. "
Leadership skills. Another crucial skill for a train engineer to carry out their responsibilities is "leadership skills." A big part of what train engineers relies on this skill, since "on some trains, a conductor directs a crew." How this skill relates to train engineer duties can be seen in an example from a train engineer resume snippet: "provide strategic leadership in resource planning, technology and product development planning, project financial assessment, and capital budgeting. "
Physical strength. Lastly, "physical strength" is an important element of what a train engineer does. Train engineer responsibilities require this skill because "rail yard engineers may have to lift heavy equipment." This resume example highlights how train engineer duties rely on this skill: "developed training materials, physical models, and classes to improve factory processes and performance of engineers and technicians. "
The three companies that hire the most train engineers are:
- Humana39 train engineers jobs
- S&P Global32 train engineers jobs
- VMware25 train engineers jobs
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Compare different train engineers
Train engineer vs. Detector car operator
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a train engineer are more likely to require skills like "pi planning," "release train," "scrum," and "rte." On the other hand, a job as a detector car operator requires skills like "law enforcement," "patrol," "pix4d," and "crime scenes." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
On average, detector car operators reach lower levels of education than train engineers. Detector car operators are 10.5% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.7% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Train engineer vs. Locomotive operator
Each career also uses different skills, according to real train engineer resumes. While train engineer responsibilities can utilize skills like "pi planning," "release train," "scrum," and "rte," locomotive operators use skills like "switches," "safety inspections," "air brakes," and "safety regulations."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Locomotive operators tend to reach lower levels of education than train engineers. In fact, they're 7.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.7% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for train engineers in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Galen Duree
Head of the Department of Physics and Optical Engineering and Professor, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Train engineer vs. Motor driver
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, train engineers are more likely to have skills like "pi planning," "release train," "scrum," and "rte." But a motor driver is more likely to have skills like "traffic laws," "vehicle inspections," "cdl," and "safety procedures."
Most motor drivers achieve a similar degree level compared to train engineers. For example, they're 4.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Train engineer vs. Locomotive engineer
Types of train engineer
Updated January 8, 2025
