73311 Railway conductors and brakemen/women

What this occupation covers

Railway conductors coordinate and supervise the activities of passenger and freight train crew members. Brakemen check train brakes and other systems and equipment prior to train run, and assist railway conductors in activities en route. They are employed by railway transport companies.

Official main duties

The NOC profile lists 10 main duties for this code.

• Supervise and coordinate the activities of passenger and freight train crew members (except locomotive engineers) to ensure train operations are in accordance with schedule, train orders and code of operating rules
• Receive train orders and explain orders to brakemen/women, locomotive engineer and other crew members
• Communicate with train crew members by radio, signals or by other means to give and receive train operation information
• Collect fares on board passenger trains, announce approaching train stops and answer passenger enquiries
• Prepare train run reports.
• Check train systems and equipment such as air conditioning and heating systems, brakes and brake hoses prior to train run
• Communicate with train crew members by radio, signals or by other means to aid in the movement and operation of train
• Receive orders from traffic controllers, observe signals and track conditions and open and close track switches
• Set and release hand brakes and connect air brake hoses to couple and switch passenger or freight cars, making minor repairs to couplings, air hoses and wheel-bearing boxes as required
• Assist in collecting fares and helping passengers on and off train.

Do not copy these lines into your reference letter. The letter has to describe what you actually did, in your employer’s words. DUTYPROOF flags wording lifted from the NOC as something to review, and an officer reading a letter that mirrors the NOC reads it the same way.

What DUTYPROOF screens for

This is DUTYPROOF’s screening threshold, not IRCC’s decision. For this NOC, screening requires at least 2 of its 10 official duties to be evidenced in your own words, plus the required letter elements. IRCC asks that you performed the actions in the occupation’s lead statement and a substantial number of its main duties — so treat the duty coverage as the number that matters, not the badge.

Codes this one is confused with

The NOC profile names these itself. Choosing the wrong code of a look-alike pair is the most common way genuine work experience fails to establish eligibility.

• 73310 Railway and yard locomotive engineers
• 72023 Supervisors, railway transport operations

Excluded from this code

• Railway and yard locomotive engineers (See 73310 Railway and yard locomotive engineers)
• Supervisors, railway transport operations (See 72023 Supervisors, railway transport operations)

Job titles filed under this code

A title on this list does not by itself put your experience in this code — the duties in your letter decide that.

brake worker - switching yard · brakeman/woman · brakeman/woman - railway · brakeman/woman - railway yard · brakeman/woman - switching yard · conductor - railway yard · conductor - road freight · conductor - switching yard · freight train brakeman/woman · freight train conductor · front-end brakeman/woman · head brakeman/woman · passenger train brakeman/woman · passenger train conductor · pullman conductor · railway conductor · road freight brakeman/woman · sleeping car conductor · tail-end brakeman/woman · train conductor

Employment requirements

• Completion of secondary school is usually required.
• Experience as a brakeman/woman is required for conductors.
• Experience as a railway worker is usually required for brakemen/women.
• Railway conductors require a Canadian Rail Operating Rules certificate.
• Brakemen/women require a Canadian Rail Operating Rules certificate.