Rail transport operatives: salary in the UK
About £44,412 a year after tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27)
median salary a year, full-time, +6.6% on last year
£4,864 a month About £3,701 a month after tax 13 thousand full-time jobs
Gross pay before tax, including bonuses, commission and overtime. Not included: benefits in kind such as a company car. About the data
Pay range
The dark part is the middle half of full-time employees (25% to 75%); the light bar runs from 10% to 90%. ONS doesn't publish the highest or lowest salary, and x means a figure wasn't published.
Pay by year
The median went from £48,405 in 2021 to £58,370 in 2026 (+21%); for all full-time employees in the UK it changed by +31% over the same years.
Figures by year
| P10 | P25 | Median | P75 | P90 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | £29,807 | £38,654 | £48,405 | £59,717 | x |
| 2022 | x | £38,500 | £49,757 | £60,605 | x |
| 2023 | x | £40,973 | £50,164 | £63,610 | x |
| 2024 | x | £43,160 | £53,119 | £68,254 | x |
| 2025 | £32,687 | £42,427 | £54,739 | £69,423 | x |
| 2026 | £37,288 | £44,193 | £58,370 | £75,292 | x |
ONS figures for each year, not adjusted for inflation. Years before 2021 used a different occupation classification, so they can't be compared. Earlier years are ONS's revised figures; the latest is provisional.
Half of full-time employees in this occupation earn less than £58,370 a year and half earn more. That is 43% more than the median for all full-time employees in the UK (£40,911).
The middle half earn between £44,193 and £75,292; one in ten earns less than £37,288.
Ranked by median, it is number 34 of the 362 occupations with a published figure.
At the median salary, take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance is about £3,701 a month in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and £3,558 in Scotland.
Percentiles
| Percentile | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th (P10) | £37,288 | £3,107 |
| 20th | £43,605 | £3,634 |
| 25th (P25) | £44,193 | £3,683 |
| 30th | £46,617 | £3,885 |
| 40th | £51,047 | £4,254 |
| Median (50th) | £58,370 | £4,864 |
| 60th | £63,821 | £5,318 |
| 70th | £72,863 | £6,072 |
| 75th (P75) | £75,292 | £6,274 |
| 80th | x | x |
| 90th (P90) | x | x |
Men and women
| Median | Mean | Jobs (thousands) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | £60,093 | £62,627 | 11 |
| Women | x | £49,093 | x |
Take-home pay at the median
| Where you live | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| England, Wales, NI | £44,412 | £3,701 |
| Scotland | £42,694 | £3,558 |
After Income Tax and National Insurance for 2026 to 2027, with the standard tax code and no pension or student loan. Work out your own take-home pay · Take-home pay on £58,000
Job titles in this occupation
ONS codes these 103 job titles to SOC 8234 Rail transport operatives. Pay figures are for the whole occupation, not for each title.
- Area railway supervisor
- Area supervisor
- Ballast guard
- Brakesman
- Cable examiner's mate
- Capstan foreman
- Cartage inspector
- Controller
- Crossing attendant
- Crossing gate keeper
- Crossing keeper
- Depot assistant
- Deputy chief controller
- Diesel driver
- Diesel engine driver
- District inspector
- Driver
- Engine fireman
- Engine stoker
- Ferryman
- Fire dropper
- Fireman
- Flagman
- Foreman
- Gate keeper
- Gate keeper and pointsman
- Gatekeeper and pointsman
- Gateman
- Goods foreman
- Goods guard
- Goods inspector
- Guards inspector
- Head office inspector
- Inspector
- Lampman
- Latcher
- Level crossing keeper
- Loco fireman
- Loco guard
- Locomotive controller
- Locomotive fireman
- Locomotive foreman
- Locomotive latcher
- Locomotive man
- Look-out man
- Mineral inspector
- Motor man
- Movement assistant
- Movements assistant
- Movements supervisor
- Operating inspector
- Parcel foreman
- Parcels foreman
- Parcels inspector
- Point attendant
- Points operator
- Pointsman
- Protection master
- Railman
- Railway inspector
Show all 103 titles
- Railway signalman
- Railway worker
- Railwayman
- Railways goods worker
- Relief signalman
- Running foreman
- Secondman
- Section controller
- Shed fireman
- Shed foreman
- Shed worker
- Shedman
- Sheeter
- Shunter
- Shunter attendant
- Shunting inspector
- Signal operator
- Signaller
- Signalling supervisor
- Signalman
- Signalman's inspector
- Stower
- Sub-inspector
- Surface driver
- Surface man
- Switch attendant
- Switch keeper
- Traffic allocator
- Traffic attendant
- Traffic inspector
- Train attendant
- Train controller
- Train foreman
- Train inspector
- Trainman
- Trainsman's relief controller
- Transport foreman
- Transport supervisor
- Wagon latcher
- Wagon sheeter
- Yard foreman
- Yard inspector
- Yardsman
Similar occupations
All jobs in Process, plant and machine operatives
Source: ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2026 provisional, Table 14.7a (full-time employees, gross annual pay, UK, tax year ending 5 April 2026). Provisional figures may be revised.