---
title: "Will AI Replace Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters?"
description: "BLS rates railroad conductors and yardmasters' exposure to AI as moderate. What that means, which parts of the work AI touches, and the 2025–2035 outlook…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-railroad-conductors-and-yardmasters"
last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z"
---

# Will AI Replace Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters? (2026)

**Short answer:** Unlikely. BLS rates the work's exposure to AI as moderate, below the middle of the pack, and still projects employment to grow.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics places railroad conductors and yardmasters in its moderate AI exposure category, below the middle of the pack: some of the work overlaps with what AI can do, much of it does not. BLS projects employment to change by +0.9% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 3,000 openings a year.

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BLS relative AI exposure | Moderate | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories |
| NueCareer AI-resilience score | 41/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database |
| Projected employment change | +0.9% | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Openings a year | 3,000 | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Median annual wage | $78,000 | BLS OEWS May 2025 |

## Exposure categories

| BLS category | Occupations |
| --- | --- |
| Low | 203 |
| Moderate (this job) | 194 |
| High | 190 |
| Very high | 199 |

Exposure means AI could be or has been used to assist with or complete some of the work. BLS says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains, automation probability or wage effects. Method: https://www.bls.gov/emp/publications/ai-exposure-categories.htm

## What holds up

- Face-to-face discussions: 4.9/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Performing general physical activities: 3.9/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials: 4.2/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Handling and moving objects: 3.6/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## What AI reaches first

- Documenting/recording information: 3.9/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Repeating the same tasks: 3.9/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Getting information: 4.4/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Evaluating information to determine compliance with standards: 3.7/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## O\*NET tasks

- Direct engineers to move cars to fit planned train configurations, combining or separating cars to make up or break up trains.
- Review schedules, switching orders, way bills, and shipping records to obtain cargo loading and unloading information and to plan work.
- Direct and instruct workers engaged in yard activities, such as switching tracks, coupling and uncoupling cars, and routing inbound and outbound traffic.
- Receive instructions from dispatchers regarding trains' routes, timetables, and cargoes.
- Signal engineers to begin train runs, stop trains, or change speed, using telecommunications equipment or hand signals.
- Arrange for the removal of defective cars from trains at stations or stops.

## Related careers less exposed to AI than railroad conductors and yardmasters

- [Crane and Tower Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/crane-and-tower-operator): BLS exposure Low, median $68,080; [Will AI replace crane operators?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-crane-operators)
- [Ship Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/ship-engineer): BLS exposure Low, median $109,530
- [Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operator and Locomotive Firer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/railroad-brake-signal-and-switch-operator-and-locomotive-firer): BLS exposure Low, median $68,840
- [Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisor](https://nuecareer.com/careers/aircraft-cargo-handling-supervisor): BLS exposure Low, median $58,170
- [Wellhead Pumper](https://nuecareer.com/careers/wellhead-pumper): BLS exposure Low, median $69,960
- [Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/gas-compressor-and-gas-pumping-station-operator): BLS exposure Low, median $77,320

## FAQ

**Will AI replace railroad conductors and yardmasters?**

Unlikely. BLS rates the work's exposure to AI as moderate, below the middle of the pack, and still projects employment to grow. BLS defines exposure as AI being able to assist with or complete some of the work, and says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains or wage effects. BLS projects employment to change by +0.9% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 3,000 openings a year.

**How exposed are railroad conductors and yardmasters to AI?**

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters are in the moderate category, alongside 193 other occupations. The categories combine five public measures of where AI could be or already is used, and they compare occupations with each other rather than giving an absolute risk.

**What parts of a railroad conductor and yardmaster's job can AI do?**

In O\*NET's description of the work, the parts that overlap most with what AI handles well are documenting/recording information, repeating the same tasks and getting information. The parts that hold up best are face-to-face discussions, performing general physical activities and inspecting equipment, structures, or materials. These come from O\*NET ratings of how important each activity is to the job, read through NueCareer's AI-resilience method.

**Is being a railroad conductor and yardmaster a safe career from AI?**

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O\*NET work activities, railroad conductors and yardmasters score 41 out of 100, higher than 42% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $78,000 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). No job is fully safe from technological change, but the federal exposure category and the projected openings are the two numbers worth weighing.

**What careers similar to railroad conductors and yardmasters are less exposed to AI?**

Crane and Tower Operator (low exposure, $68,080 median), Ship Engineer (low exposure, $109,530 median), Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operator and Locomotive Firer (low exposure, $68,840 median), Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisor (low exposure, $58,170 median). Each is in a lower BLS exposure category than railroad conductors and yardmasters, and most are listed by O\*NET as related to the work.

Full profile: https://nuecareer.com/careers/railroad-conductor-and-yardmaster.

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This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology