Opportunity ahead for young people to explore Valley railroad jobs. What’s the typical pay?
A low-cost training program for rail workers of the future will hold an open house Thursday, Nov. 21.
The Stockton event will highlight jobs in the growing passenger and freight services in the Central Valley and beyond.
Young people can learn what it takes to be a locomotive engineer, a conductor, a mechanic and other roles. They can earn a certificate in seven months or a community college degree over two years.
The program is called The Rail Academy of Central California (TRACC). The partners include Amtrak, the Altamont Corridor Express and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway.
The open house will be from 4 to 6 p.m. at the maintenance center for ACE and the Amtrak San Joaquins service, 1020 E. Alpine Ave. Attendees are asked to RSVP on the academy website.
A sampling of the current pay in the industry:
- Locomotive engineers make an average of $100,423 per year, according to payscale.com. That reflects the skill needed to safely guide a long train at up to 79 mph, the federal speed limit in the Valley.
- Conductor salaries average $60,819, the same online source said. On freight trains, the job entails helping the engineer with safe and efficient operation. On passenger trains, it also involves aiding riders.
- The pay range is $64,605 to $82,701 for a mechanic/utility worker now being recruited to maintain ACE equipment in Stockton. The job is with Herzog Transit Services Inc., which operates the line for the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission.
Where will rail classes be held?
Rail Academy students are enrolled at Sacramento City College but can get some of their instruction online. They also learn hands-on at the maintenance center, which has bays where they can get underneath the engines and coaches.
The next cohort will start in January. The cost is $736 for the certificate program and $2,760 for the associate’s degree. The latter includes general education courses and the rail instruction.
The academy has dual-enrollment agreements with the Stockton Unified School District and the Sacramento City Unified School District. Teens can complete the training at no charge.
Organizers have said new workers are needed as others retire from rail careers. The industry is expected to expand due to the lower environmental impact compared with trucking.
Passenger and freight trains share tracks
BNSF and the Union Pacific Railroad are both multi-state freight networks with busy corridors in the Valley. Their tracks are used by ACE and the Amtrak lines between the Valley and Bay Area.
Both passengers systems have funding to roughly double in the next few years, with the first new round trips as soon as 2026.
Amtrak will reach six daily trains between Bakersfield and Oakland and the same number on a branch between Stockton and Sacramento.
ACE now runs four weekday round trips between Stockton and San Jose, mainly for commuters to Bay Area jobs. It will add branches to Sacramento, Stanislaus and Merced counties. Some of the eight total round trips will be timed for leisure travelers.
This story was originally published November 15, 2024 at 6:00 PM.
