(Source: Trains Magazine analysis by Chase Gunnoe, May 25, 2022)
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Efforts by Class I railroads to hire more engineers and conductors are helping lift workforce numbers from record lows during the coronavirus pandemic. According to the most recent Surface Transportation Board employment data, U.S. railroads have 1,300 more train and engine employees — engineers and conductors, better known as T&E — than a year ago. But other forms of railroad employment remain below pre-pandemic numbers, and overall employment is still dramatically lower than it was five years ago. Overall Class I employment spanning all job functions is at 114,592 as of the end of the first quarter of 2022, down 10% from March 2020’s number of 127,867.
Full story: Trains Magazine