CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Class I railroads are hiring train crews to replace the droves of workers who retired or left the railroad during the coronavirus pandemic. Class I railroads currently employ less than 115,000 workers, 12% fewer than before the pandemic, according to Class I railroad data compiled by the Surface Transportation Board.
Despite an increase in post-pandemic rail business, railroads have added less than 1% to its workforce since the industry fell to a record low of 113,461 workers in January 2020.
It’s no surprise railroads have been trimming workforce since before the pandemic due to steady declines in coal business and Class I railroads’ adaption of Precision Scheduled Railroading. Railroads haul 50% less coal traffic than they did in the mid-2000s, and PSR seeks to reduce crew needs by running fewer, longer trains. But railroads were not expecting such a high number of people to leave the business during the pandemic. Nearly 17,000 fewer people work for the railroad now than they did two years ago. As a result, railroads’ workforces are too thin in places to handle growth.
Jobs that have seen the biggest decreases are equipment maintainers, down more than 23% since the pandemic started, a difference of 5,400 workers; train and engine workers, down 12%, a difference of 6,500 jobs; and maintenance-of-way employees, down 9%, or 3,000 jobs.
Railroads are aggressively hiring and training new workers. At this writing, the country’s seven Class I railroads had 690 jobs available spanning all crafts.
Hiring workers will allow railroads to improve operating performance and meet demand. CSX noted in its fourth-quarter 2021 earnings presentation that its hiring pipeline is strong and it’s filling training classes in a concentrated effort to improve service after staffing shortfalls dragged down operations in the prior quarter. Other railroads have made similar remarks.
Railroads’ hiring efforts aren’t necessarily short-sighted decisions to remedy today’s problems. Coronavirus’ effects on the workforce was like hitting a reset button. Unemployment peaked at 14% during the height of the pandemic in April 2020, a number unseen since the Great Recession. Since then, and as the economy has opened up, American workers have had abundant options in choosing a new career as opportunities flooded the market. This resulted in a lot of railroaders choosing other crafts.
And while automation and optimization will allow railroads to move more freight with less resources, railroads still need women and men to shepherd freight across America’s rail system, just as they need people to maintain equipment and infrastructure. And they especially need those people now.
Considering the circumstances, now is a good time to join the railroad and begin building seniority. It’s likely railroads may not experience another industry-wide hiring frenzy like what is being experienced today. Post-pandemic hiring has the potential to reverse railroad’s downward-trending workforce numbers only until railroads are adequately staffed again. Right now is a good opportunity for the millennial railroader.
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