Railroad Forums 

  • BNSF EL PASO CONDUCTOR SALARIES

  • General discussion about working in the railroad industry. Industry employers are welcome to post openings here.
General discussion about working in the railroad industry. Industry employers are welcome to post openings here.

Moderator: thebigc

 #1487261  by Skilledjoe55
 
I start training November 26th 2018 in El Paso Texas. I passed everything and recieved my offers. I have no clue on what I’m going to be making after training. Can anyone give me an idea on what I would most likely be making a year? I talked to someomen who works for BNSF that the pay in El Paso on the extra board was $7681 a month guaranteed. That’s about $92,000 a year. Is this true? Also how is the El Paso Location? Any tips or information would be greatly appreciated. I just want to get an Idea before I quit my job and go all in for the railroad. Thanks!
 #1487726  by brim0628
 
Greetings, it is hard to find any decent info about starting a new job with BNSF. I have searched far and wide with few results. I too am set to start out as a conductor trainee on Oct 29th. I will be workin out of Centralia, Illinois. They told us durin the interview/info session that trainees make around $193 a day durin training. I'm not sure but I have read that training will be 6 days a week so that gives you an idea of what to expect. Even after training I assume we will only be makin 80%. I think it takes 4 years to get up over $7000. Good luck with the new job
 #1489154  by Engineer Spike
 
Railroads hate paying guarantee. When too much goes out, the. positions get cut. As a new hire keep your expenses low. Don’t count of working the whole year through. That’s what seniority is about. Budget wisely.
 #1489714  by philofab
 
I believe El Paso is SF primary recall so training is 13 weeks with pay starting at $116 a day for first two weeks then going to $150-$180 a day for the rest. After marking up you can make $60k-125k a year depending on the area and how much you lay off. You will most likely get furloughed in Jan-Mar when low on seniority unless you are very lucky. Some people never get furloughed, some have been furloughed for 3 years out of class. Terminal and economy dictate this. If you willing to travel to undesirable terminals it helps.
 #1491007  by tundraboomer
 
Don't forget that helper positions will be at step rate, or 75% of the prevailing wage, for your first year. Same with the guarantee on yard boards. If you are in a terminal with no yard jobs, or you can hold the road right out of training, that is where the money is. 75% of the prevailing helper rate sucks. It comes out to only about $191/basic day in my terminal.