What does a Freight Conductor do?
Freight conductor responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real freight conductor resumes:
- Provide excellent leadership by training new conductors in railroad rules and regulations, while simultaneously managing the train yard.
- Instruct and assist train crews in coupling/uncoupling cars, operate switches, and implement minor repairs to rail cars.
- Assist co-workers to couple and uncouple cars, throw track switches, or other activities involve in switching railroad cars.
- Make sure train consist is correct within CSX system database.
- Train and educate new employees about BNSF rules and policies.
- Monitor corrosive and combustible materials, broad knowledge of all HAZMAT procedures.
- Perform brake tests and maintain proper documentation of locations and freight, hazmat loads.
- Complete time ticket, report hours of service and train times to FRA, submit claims to payroll.
- Utilize CSX unique software to retrieve work orders, train lists, train documents, and time keeping.
- Uncouple and couple air and electrical connections between locomotives.
- Couple air and electrical connections between locomotives and operate equipment remotely.
- Observe the condition of passing train and report results to appropriate personnel.RCO Operator.
- Switch storage cars, spot customer cars, determine train sequence for interchanges and communicate with BNSF at interchange point.
- Qualify on all NORAC rules and physical characteristics of the regional territory.
Freight conductor skills and personality traits
We calculated that 15% of Freight Conductors are proficient in Switches, FRA, and Rail Cars. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Customer-service skills, and Hand-eye coordination.
We break down the percentage of Freight Conductors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Switches, 15%
Assisted co-workers to couple and uncouple cars, throw track switches, or other activities involved in switching railroad cars.
- FRA, 15%
Comply with all train orders, CSXT operating rules, United States FRA rules and safety regulations.
- Rail Cars, 14%
Performed the classification, inspection, delivery and pick up of rail cars to and from train terminals and customer industries.
- Federal Regulations, 8%
Required to pay close attention to detail while following strict company and federal regulations / rules.
- Hand Signals, 7%
Received and transmitted information by radio communications and hand signals.
- CSX, 6%
Graduated and received certificate from CSX Railroad Education and Development Institute.
Common skills that a freight conductor uses to do their job include "switches," "fra," and "rail cars." You can find details on the most important freight conductor responsibilities below.
Communication skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a freight conductor 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." Freight conductors often use communication skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "maintained constant communication with and from train dispatcher regarding train orders slow speeds and any abnormalities. "
Customer-service skills. Many freight conductor duties rely on customer-service skills. "conductors on passenger trains ensure travelers’ comfort, make announcements, and answer questions," so a freight conductor will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways freight conductor responsibilities rely on customer-service skills: "operated switches made minor repairs to railcars* coordinated with customers to ensure accurate movement and placement of cars on delivery. "
Hand-eye coordination. This is an important skill for freight conductors to perform their duties. For an example of how freight conductor responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "locomotive engineers must operate controls based, in part, on their observations of the train’s surroundings." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a freight conductor: "organize and assemble trains in train yard - comply with federal rules and regulations in coordination with safe train handling".
Leadership skills. For certain freight conductor responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "leadership skills." The day-to-day duties of a freight conductor rely on this skill, as "on some trains, a conductor directs a crew." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what freight conductors do: "top of class csx leadership and technical training. "
Mechanical skills. A commonly-found skill in freight conductor job descriptions, "mechanical skills" is essential to what freight conductors do. Freight conductor responsibilities rely on this skill because "railroad workers should be able to adjust equipment when it does not work properly." You can also see how freight conductor duties rely on mechanical skills in this resume example: "prioritized mechanical problems & arranged for repair stops when necessary. "
Physical strength. Another skill commonly found on freight conductor job descriptions is "physical strength." It can come up quite often in freight conductor duties, since "rail yard engineers may have to lift heavy equipment." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day freight conductor responsibilities: "qualified on all norac rules and physical characteristics of the regional territory. "
The three companies that hire the most freight conductors are:
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Compare different freight conductors
Freight conductor vs. Railroad dispatcher
The job of a switchman is to operate the track switches for railroads. Your day-to-day duties typically include operating the brakes and switches, attaching and detaching freight cars, and conducting a routine inspection of important train parts. Additionally, you will be responsible for visually checking the conditions of switches, and relaying radio, arm, and lantern signals that affect train movement. A switchman typically gets and follow instructions from the freight operator, and may be required to assist in setting train brakes and adding or removing cars.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between freight conductors and railroad dispatcher. For instance, freight conductor responsibilities require skills such as "safety-toe boots," "switches," "fra," and "federal regulations." Whereas a railroad dispatcher is skilled in "train crews," "emergency situations," "traffic signals," and "traffic control." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Railroad dispatchers tend to reach similar levels of education than freight conductors. In fact, railroad dispatchers are 2.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Freight conductor vs. Yardmaster
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that freight conductor responsibilities requires skills like "safety-toe boots," "switches," "rail cars," and "hand signals." But a yardmaster might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "safety procedures," "general supervision," "train crews," and "conductors."
In general, yardmasters achieve similar levels of education than freight conductors. They're 3.0% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Freight conductor vs. Trains dispatcher supervisor
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, freight conductors are more likely to have skills like "safety-toe boots," "switches," "fra," and "rail cars." But a trains dispatcher supervisor is more likely to have skills like "customer service," "emergency situations," "assist safety," and "driver training."
Trains dispatcher supervisors typically earn similar educational levels compared to freight conductors. Specifically, they're 0.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Freight conductor vs. Switchman
Types of freight conductor
Updated January 8, 2025
