Railroad inspectors ensure compliance with safety regulations for tracks and trains. The core competencies required include rail experience, communication skills, and investigative skills. Inspectors must also be willing to travel extensively and meet federal employment requirements.
A railroad inspector is an individual responsible for examining the rail system’s tracks and trains to ensure that they comply with all applicable safety regulations. In the United States, railroad inspectors are generally employed by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), a division of the Department of Transportation. While there is no specific certification process, the federal government expects certain skills and abilities to become a rail inspector, which include knowledge of rail operations, communication skills, analytical judgment, and willingness to travel extensively.
The core competency needed to become a railroad inspector is to have experience and understanding of rail operations and/or railroad construction. Previous experience in the rail sector is essential and, although there is no specific written test, candidates are rigorously assessed for their experience and training in their application and answers to a supplementary qualification exam. The FRA does not require a specific college degree for inspectors, but an engineering background is useful for the inspector’s job and for acquiring positions that create the necessary experience. Especially useful is any position dealing with one or more of the inspector’s five occupational disciplines: lane control, signals and trains, operations, motive equipment, and hazardous materials.
Communication skills are also crucial for anyone wanting to become a railroad inspector. While railway inspectors, especially those who specialize in track or signal inspections, do some direct inspection of the physical components of the railway industry, they also need to interview people in and around the industry to gather information for their investigations. The operations specialty, in particular, is focused on the human component of train operation, ensuring that crews who load and operate trains follow safe industry practices. Additionally, inspectors are required to draft and/or present their findings and recommendations upon completion of an investigation.
Railway inspectors maintain ongoing supervision of the safety conditions of the railways, but also conduct investigations to determine explanations for railway accidents and mishaps. For this reason, anyone wanting to become a railway inspector must demonstrate the analytical skills to conduct an investigation and determine what factors lead to a failure in railway operations, which parties bear responsibility, and how future risk can be minimized. Specific examples include determining whether a train driver was following proper procedures or investigating whether signaling equipment was operating correctly.
Any prospective railroad inspectors must also be available to travel extensively for work. In addition to a willingness to travel, a valid driver’s license and a credit rating sufficient to be entrusted with a government expense card are also requirements. The FRA specifically notes that railroad inspectors who are unable to obtain or retain their travel cards will be subject to removal from federal service.
Since the railroad inspector position is a federal job, those who wish to become a railroad inspector must also meet federal employment requirements. Drug tests are required as part of the application process, and inspectors are potentially subject to random drug tests throughout their careers. To avoid conflicts of interest, as rail inspectors must have prior experience with the companies they will be inspecting and investigating, rail inspectors must also divest themselves of any and all re-employment, leave and seniority rights they may have of railway companies. Otherwise, the railroad inspector is subject to removal from federal service.
While countries other than the United States may have different specifics, the core competencies of rail experience, investigative skills, and written and oral communication will be required for candidates to become rail inspectors anywhere. While the railroad inspector job can be very demanding, it is also a career path that offers rewards in your opportunity to make a difference, keep people safe, and provide closure and explanation after tragedies.
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