8153 Rail construction and maintenance operatives
Unit group 8153 in the ONS Standard Occupational Classification 2020, with the line the Appendix Skilled Occupations gives it. Not immigration advice.
In short
- ONS unit group 8153, in minor group 815 (Construction operatives) and major group 8 (Process, plant and machine operatives).
- Appendix Skilled Occupations (figures as at 3 August 2026, re-checked 26 October 2026): Not on the list: Table 6.
- Going rate as the tables print it:
What the ONS says
Description
Rail construction and maintenance operatives lay, re-lay, repair and examine railway track and maintain surrounding areas.
Typical entry routes
There are no formal academic entry requirements. Off and on-the-job training is provided. NVQs/SVQs in Rail Engineering and apprenticeships at levels 2 and 3 are available.
Tasks
- patrols length of track and visually inspects rails, bolts, fishplates and chairs for distortion or fracture
- checks tightness of bolts and wedges, replaces damaged rail chairs and repacks ballast under sleepers if necessary
- lubricates points, examines fences, drains, culverts and embankments and carries out any necessary maintenance
- spreads ballast and lays sleepers or metal plates at specified intervals
- positions lengths of rail, sets of points and crossovers and secures rail with bolts, wooden wedges or clips
- fastens together sections of rail by bolting fishplates to rails
Related job titles
- Line Inspector (railways)
- Maintenance man (railway maintenance and repair)
- Relayer (railways)
- Track maintenance engineer
- Trackman (railways)
- Ultrasonic engineer (railway maintenance and repair)
What the Appendix Skilled Occupations says
The Appendix lists this code in the table below, with the table’s own caption and the row as printed. Read the full table, and any condition in it, on GOV.UK.
Table 6: SOC 2020 occupation codes which are not eligible for the Skilled Worker, Global Business Mobility or Scale-up routes
- SOC 2020 occupation code
- 8153 Rail construction and maintenance operatives
- Examples of related job titles (non-exhaustive)
- Line Inspector (railways)
- Maintenance man (railway maintenance and repair)
- Relayer (railways)
- Track maintenance engineer
- Trackman (railways)
- Ultrasonic engineer (railway maintenance and repair)
Other unit groups in minor group 815
- 8151 Scaffolders, stagers and riggers
- 8152 Road construction operatives
- 8159 Construction operatives n.e.c.
Sources
Occupation text: Office for National Statistics, SOC 2020 Volume 1: structure and descriptions of unit groups (file dated 27 August 2026, version V13). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Open Government Licence v3.0. Tables: Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Occupations on GOV.UK, page updated 3 August 2026; re-checked against the page updated 8 October 2026 on 26 October 2026, tables unchanged.
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