Hi everyone, this maybe a bit long winded but please bare with me.
I'm hoping some of you guys out there can point me in the right direction of jobs going in the US that would be interested in an electrical railroad engineer from the UK.
My long term aim has always been to emigrate to the USA along with my partner who is a school teacher. She's already had job offers and will easily get a job but not having any other qualifications other then ones from the railway I'm hoping to stick with the job I enjoy.
I work for Network rail in the UK and I'm part of the S&T (Signals & Telecoms) department. Based on and around the installation and maintenance of points,signals, AC and DC track circuits. I also hold several certificates for training passed in these areas.
I also have 5 years experience in the heavy maintenance department which involved removal and installation of miles of track. Everything from complete section renewals to short rail replacement.
Ideally I'd like to get a job in or around the Georgia/Alabama area due to close family in these areas but would happily go anywhere.
The research that I've done only ever seems to advertise management roles or train drivers, I'm guessing you guys have ground teams that do track maintenance? ...... And electrical (same as the UK's S&T) teams ?
Again from research I've seen that the US is primarily freight with only around 25%-30% passenger lines and usually in the large cities. I'm guessing a majority of passenger lines are underground ? Does the underground have specific teams trained in underground maintenance? (Like the UK)
Any company names or even a company email address just so I can do further investigation and make contact would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance guys
Over the past several years Class 1 carriers hired signal technicians to facilitate the installation of Positive Train Control on thousands of miles of track. With the operational deadline for PTC being December 31, 2018 the field installation of this hardware is nearing its conclusion. With that being the reality a number of those hired are now being let go.
There are a number of commuter rail operations in a number of locations around the country, they also have PTC being required for most of their operations - where they stand with the field installation of this equipment is not known - many of these authorities are complaining of funding issues. Nearly all commuter rail is above ground operation. A number of cities have 'subway' operations, New York, Washington DC, and San Francisco being among the largest. Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority has mostly above ground operations with some underground operations. https://martaguide.com/
A Web Search for Commuter Rail or Rail Transit for US cities should yield the information you desire.
1:1 Scale railroad and transit is discussed at http://cs.trains.com/trn/f/default.aspx
Never too old to have a happy childhood!