72604 – Railway traffic controllers and marine traffic regulators
TEER 2Occupations usually requiring a college diploma or apprenticeship of 2 years or more, or supervisory occupations
Lead statement
Railway traffic controllers coordinate passenger and freight train traffic on railways.
Main duties
- Operate and monitor centralized traffic control systems to coordinate and follow railway traffic
- Chart train movements, calculate arrival and departure times and record rail traffic information
- Issue instructions to control the movement of passenger and freight train traffic and on-track mobile maintenance equipment
- Receive, record and relay train instructions to train crew by hand or radio telephone
- May supervise and train other railway traffic controllers.
- Direct and monitor vessel movements using radar or closed circuit monitors, remote radio systems and other telecommunication equipment
- Obtain position, course, speed and estimated arrival time of vessels and monitor vessel progress through traffic zone
- Issue clearance instructions to vessels, advise vessels of traffic volumes and weather conditions, and relay information to next marine traffic control sector
- Report accidents, distress signals, navigational hazards and other emergencies to authorities
- Maintain radio and telephone contact with adjacent marine control sectors and with vessels within area of jurisdiction
- Maintain log of vessel movements, size and structure.
Employment requirements
- Railway traffic controllers usually require completion of secondary school and several years of experience in the railway industry.
- Up to 35 weeks of a combination of classroom and on-the-job training is provided for railway traffic controllers.
- Railway traffic controllers require a Canadian Rail Operating Rules certificate.
- Marine traffic regulators require completion of secondary school and several months of formal traffic regulator training.
Example job titles
centralized traffic control (CTC) operator - railway traffic · centralized traffic controller - railway traffic · locomotive dispatcher · rail traffic controller · train dispatcher · marine traffic controller · waterway traffic checker · marine traffic regulator
Wages (per hour)
| Province / territory | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | $31.00 | $41.00 | $54.00 |
| Quebec | $31.00 | $41.00 | $52.00 |
| Ontario | $30.72 | $40.47 | $51.03 |
| Alberta | $31.11 | $43.11 | $55.83 |
| British Columbia | $30.20 | $42.83 | $61.62 |
Source: Job Bank wages, 2025 release (ESDC). Low and high are the 10th and 90th percentiles.
Occupation details: ESDC OaSIS 2025, based on NOC 2021.