(The following article by Randolph Heaster was posted on the Kansas City Star website on May 4.)
KANSAS CITY — Freight growth and an aging work force will combine to create a hiring boom in the railroad industry over the next several years.
The country’s railroads expect to hire more than 80,000 new employees over the next six years, according to the Association of American Railroads.
With a generally older work force, railroads are looking for younger people interested in obtaining the technical skills to operate locomotives, maintain freight cars or be conductors.
“The rail industry offers exciting jobs for the class of 2004 and those looking for careers with strong growth opportunities,” said Edward R. Hamberger, the association’s president and chief executive officer. “With freight demand expected to jump 67 percent by 2020, the rail industry offers stability, with fantastic opportunities for a long-term career path.”
The association said the 2003 average annual salary for employees of major railroads was $61,895. Workers who maintain locomotives and freight cars averaged $48,853, and conductors earned an average of $67,128 last year.
Engineers made an average of $75,162 in 2003, with the highest-paid engineers receiving about $110,000 a year. In addition to the salaries, the average benefits package for rail employees last year amounted to $22,986.
With Kansas City’s status as the country’s second-biggest rail hub, several major railroads will have many job openings in the area. Earlier this year, Union Pacific Railroad said it hired about 160 people for jobs it had in the Kansas City area.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway is adding about 1,600 workers systemwide in 2004, said Steve Forsberg, a company spokesman in Overland Park.
Of that total, about 120 train-crew members will be hired in the Kansas City area intermittently through the year, he said. Burlington Northern Santa Fe currently has about 2,300 employees in the area.
Over the next five years beginning in 2005, Burlington Northern will be hiring about 1,500 new employees annually throughout its system.
“Some of it is due to demographics, and some of it is due to growth in traffic,” Forsberg said.
Legislation in 2002 that changed the age when rail employees are eligible to retire is one reason for the rising demand in new workers. Congress lowered the age that rail retirees can receive full benefits to 60 from 62, provided that they have worked 30 years. The industry projects that nearly 40 percent of all railroad employees will be eligible to retire over the next decade.
The reviving economy also is playing a role in the demand for labor.
“Led by intermodal service — freight trains carrying consumer goods in truck trailers — railroads are proving to be growth industry again,” said Anthony B. Hatch, an independent Wall Street analyst. “We expect railroads to play an even larger role in American industry and worldwide distribution.”
Most new employees hire into railroads as conductors, Forsberg said, with employees working up to the higher-paying engineering jobs. Forsberg said those interested in seeing what jobs are available at Burlington Northern Santa Fe can check the company’s Web site at www.bnsf.com and click on “Careers.”
In the Kansas City area, those who want to train to gain the technical skills needed to work for a railroad can attend the National Academy of Railroad Sciences at Johnson County Community College. The training center is a joint venture of the college and Burlington Northern Santa Fe.
The facility trains about 700 people annually. Forsberg said all the major railroads hire graduates of the academy, which has about 97 percent placement rate.
As part of a recruiting drive, the training academy this past weekend began running commercials at AMC theaters in Olathe and at its Barrywoods complex in the Northland. The pilot project will run for two months, Forsberg said. If successful, the advertising might be used in other markets as well, he said.