Railroad Trackman Injury Risks

As a railroad trackman, your main job is to keep the track structure safe enough for trains to move without derailment.

Every part of the rail line, including rails, ties, ballast, switches, crossings, joints, and right-of-way surfaces, depends on the work you and your crew perform day after day.

Track can shift, settle, crack, or deform with heat, cold, vibration, and train load.

Your job is to find those problems, fix them, and prevent new ones from forming.

Core Daily Responsibilities

As a trackman, your day centers on inspection, repair, and prevention: hands-on work that keeps track geometry within spec and trains moving safely.

Your work usually includes:

• Inspecting the track for broken ties, cracked rail, loose fasteners, or wide gauge
• Replacing ties that are damaged, rotten, or loose
• Lifting and lining the track to correct alignment and surface
• Tamping ballast so the track structure stays supported
• Maintaining switches and frogs, which need constant attention
• Cutting or grinding the rail when sections must be repaired
• Clearing vegetation and applying weed-control chemicals along the right-of-way

As in other railway-related roles, these tasks are repetitive, physically demanding, and time-sensitive.

You’re expected to find problems before they become derailment risks.

Tools and Equipment Used By a Trackman

Track work relies on a mix of hand tools and small machines.

You might use:

• Lining bars and track wrenches
• Spike mauls and claw bars
• Hydraulic spikers and pullers
• Rail saws and grinders
• Tamping machines and small track equipment
• Hi-rail trucks for transportation and repairs

Each tool has its own hazards: impact, vibration, weight, pinch points, and noise.

Where Trackmen Work

Unlike other railroad personnel (like brakemen), you rarely work in one place for long.

Track crews move constantly through:

• Mainlines: Where trains run at high speed
• Rail yards: With constant equipment movement
• Remote right-of-way: Often far from help
• Industrial spurs: Which may contain chemical residues
• Bridges or elevated areas: Where fall risks increase

Every location changes the type of risk you face.

Why the Job Is Hazardous

Despite safety rules and better equipment, track maintenance remains high-risk work with daily exposures that can injure you quickly or wear you down over time.

Even with modern rules, track work still exposes you to:

• Heavy lifting
• Repetitive strain
• Noise and vibration
• Extreme heat and cold
• Tight deadlines and production pressure
• Long-term contact with creosote, diesel fumes, solvents, herbicides, and other chemicals

These conditions explain why so many trackman injuries and long-term health issues develop over time.

Railway work has always carried a high level of danger, even in regular railroad service.

The risks are real, whether you’re a shopman or a conductor.

As a railroad trackman, you spend most of your day lifting heavy materials, climbing uneven railroad tracks, operating machines, and walking long distances while performing repairs.

These tasks place constant strain on your body.

When rules, tools, or work conditions aren’t maintained properly by management, the risk increases even more.

Below are the major physical hazards track workers face, and why these injuries are so common in this career.

Heavy Lifting and Overexertion

You handle old spikes, tie plates, joint bars, hydraulic tools, and other equipment that can weigh 20 to 60 pounds.

The work doesn’t happen on a smooth shop floor.

You’re standing on loose ballast, bending, twisting, and pulling in ways that strain your back, shoulders, and knees.

Common injuries include:

• Back strains
• Herniated discs
• Shoulder tears
• Chronic knee pain

These injuries are common in other railroad professions, like shop and car department employees.

They also often lead to long-term medical expenses and difficulty maintaining work-life balance, especially when the company pressures you to keep up with production quotas.

Vibration and Repetitive Motion Injuries

Track work relies on constant use of vibrating and mechanical tools.

Hydraulic spikers, grinders, tampers, and power wrenches expose your hands, arms, and shoulders to hours of repeated force every day.

Over time, this can cause:

• Nerve compression
• Hand-arm vibration syndrome
• Chronic tendon problems
• Joint deterioration

These problems are common among employees working outdoors in all types of weather, day or night, and are often worsened by production-based plans that ignore recovery time.

Equipment Strikes and Crush Injuries

Working around large machines like tampers, ballast regulators, tie inserters, trucks, and cars moving through yard areas exposes you to severe trauma.

A single miscommunication inside a crew can cause a tamping head or tie extractor to swing unexpectedly.

This type of injury is often linked to:

• Poor communication
• Lack of watchfulness
• Pressure from management
• Missing or ignored guidelines and regulations

Trackmen are expected to watch for moving equipment at all times, even while performing detailed hands-on maintenance.

Slips, Trips, and Falls

Unlike other railroad positions (like conductors, brakemen, and track engineers), track work is almost entirely outdoors.

You work outdoors on uneven rock, mud, ice, bridges, ditches, and steep embankments.

You’re often climbing in and out of plant yards and stepping over tools, hoses, and exposed materials.

Falls often lead to:

• Broken ankles
• Wrist fractures
• Knee injuries
• Concussions

Many trackmen, as well as railroad conductors and locomotive engineers, tell the same story: one slip on wet ballast has changed the entire course of their career.

Heat Stress and Environmental Exposure

Track crews work in extreme weather like summer heat, winter wind, heavy rain, snow, and intense sun.

Heat-related injuries are especially common because you’re lifting, lining, tamping, and working around machines that generate more heat.

Heat and cold exposure can cause:

• Heat exhaustion or heat stroke
• Dehydration
• Frostbite
• Long-term circulation problems

Government safety data shows that outdoor laborers like track workers face higher environmental risks than most other railroad employees, especially in remote locations where help may be far away.

Noise and Hearing Damage

Rail equipment, grinders, saws, tampers, and passing train traffic produce levels of noise strong enough to damage hearing permanently.

Many trackmen, especially those with years on the line, experience tinnitus, hearing loss, and difficulty understanding speech.

In fact, one study found that railroad trackmen aged 45 are more likely to develop noise-induced hearing loss compared to their younger counterparts.

These problems affect their daily life and time with their family.

Fatigue and Long Hours

Track crews often travel long distances, work nights, and spend weeks on progress-driven maintenance schedules.

The responsibility is high, and the ability to rest is low.

Fatigue affects attention, reaction time, and decision-making.

Many accidents happen because the body simply can’t keep up with the demands of the job.

Why These Injuries Are So Common

Physical track work is a mix of mechanical and manual labor, performed under tight deadlines and difficult circumstances.

You balance engineering principles with real-world conditions like terrain, weather, machine limits, and production pressure.

The company depends on your knowledge and skill, but when it cuts corners on staffing, equipment, or safety, you’re the one who pays for it.

A trackman may love the benefits of stable pay, job security, or working as part of a strong group, but that doesn’t erase the danger built into the work.

Without proper supervision, updated plans, and compliance with federal regulations, track crews are left exposed.

Your injuries aren’t just part of the job.

Many come from avoidable conditions; conditions your employer has a legal duty to fix.

Physical injuries are only part of the danger you face as a railroad trackman.

Chemical exposure is another common health risk faced by employees in rail networks.

Many workers develop long-term health problems from the chemicals used in track maintenance, older materials still found on the railroad, and the byproducts of daily operations.

These exposures often go unnoticed for years, and the company rarely gives you complete data, training, or protective guidelines to understand the risks.

Creosote From Railroad Ties

Most wood ties in North America are treated with creosote.

It’s a mix of hundreds of chemicals, many of which are toxic.

When you lift ties, pull old spikes, or replace parts of the line, you contact creosote through your hands, arms, and sometimes your clothes.

Working in plant yards or around older ties increases this exposure.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has associated creosote with numerous health risks, including:

• Skin burns and rashes
• Chronic dermatitis
• Respiratory irritation
• Increased cancer risk in long-term employees

Trackmen often carry the smell of creosote home, which means your family is indirectly exposed too.

Many workers later account for chronic skin or breathing problems that began while handling ties during maintenance work.

Diesel Exhaust

The machines used in track repair run on diesel, and so do the trains passing by while you’re working.

You breathe diesel exhaust daily, especially in tight locations like bridges, cuts, tunnels, or industrial yard areas.

Long-term diesel exposure has been linked to:

• Lung cancer
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Asthma
• Cardiovascular problems

A trackman often works outdoors, but the exposure doesn’t disappear.

Exhaust gets trapped between machines, structures, and weather conditions.

You inhale it for hours while performing your job.

Herbicides and Weed-Control Chemicals

Track crews spray herbicides to manage vegetation along the railway.

These chemicals often drift while workers are walking or working nearby.

Some formulations contain ingredients historically associated with cancer risk, especially when applied frequently without proper safety measures.

Herbicide exposure can cause:

• Skin irritation
• Respiratory problems
• Endocrine effects
• Elevated cancer risk

Many workers report that management never explained what was being sprayed, what regulations applied, or how to protect themselves.

If your employer has committed this kind of negligence, you may qualify for a railroad chemical exposure lawsuit.

Solvents, Degreasers, and Cleaning Agents

Track work relies on lubricants, cleaners, and degreasers for machines, switches, and metal components.

These chemicals can irritate your skin, eyes, and lungs.

With repeated exposure, certain solvents have been associated with neurological issues.

Potential health effects include:

• Headaches
• Dizziness
• Nerve damage
• Memory problems

Workers often use these chemicals in busy areas, where rules and guidelines might not be followed consistently.

Welding and Cutting Fumes

If your position requires cutting or welding rail, you breathe fumes containing metal particles, namely manganese, iron, chromium, and sometimes silica or lead.

These fumes can be especially harmful in enclosed or low-airflow circumstances.

Health risks include:

• Lung irritation
• Metal fume fever
• Neurological symptoms
• Long-term respiratory disease

Even with electronic or mechanical cutting tools, you’re exposed to heated materials and airborne contaminants.

Asbestos From Older Track Components

Some older railroad equipment and infrastructure, insulating materials, brake pads, and older buildings on the right-of-way still contain asbestos.

If you work near these areas, especially during demolition or development work, you may unknowingly breathe in asbestos fibers.

Asbestos exposure is linked to:

• Lung cancer
• Asbestosis
• Mesothelioma

The government has strict regulations about asbestos, but many track workers never receive the necessary warnings or protective equipment.

Silica Dust

Ballast dust contains silica.

Whenever you work around tamping, grinding, cutting, or sweeping ballast, you inhale small particles that can embed in your lungs.

This occurrence is especially common in dry weather, high-traffic locations, or during extensive maintenance projects.

Silica exposure can cause:

• Silicosis
• Lung scarring
• Chronic breathing problems

Silica dust is one of the most overlooked hazards for a trackman, even though it’s a major contributor to respiratory disease.

Cancers Reported Among Track Workers

Because of long-term exposure to creosote, diesel exhaust, herbicides, metal fumes, and asbestos, track workers have faced elevated rates of cancers.

Cancers reported among track workers include:

• Lung cancer
• Bladder cancer
• Skin cancer
• Leukemia
• Lymphoma
• Cancers of the digestive tract

Many workers don’t connect their diagnosis to decades of track work until much later, when they begin reviewing their medical account, work history, or when a doctor asks about past exposure.

Why Chemical Exposures Matter Under FELA

Unlike workers’ compensation, FELA allows you to hold the company legally accountable if their negligence contributed to your exposure.

That includes:

• Lack of protective equipment
• Missing warnings
• Poor training
• Unsafe plans or guidelines
• Violations of federal regulations
• Failure to monitor or limit exposure

Any failure by the railroad to follow safety procedures (even “slight” negligence) can make them responsible for your medical costs, loss of pay, and long-term benefits.

If you’ve worked as a railroad trackman, you’re covered by the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) and not workers’ compensation.

This distinction is important because FELA gives you the right to hold the railroad accountable when unsafe work conditions, broken rules, or poor management contribute to your injury or illness.

FELA applies to every part of your job: working on railroad tracks, handling equipment, dealing with chemical exposures, or performing maintenance along the line.

Whether you were hurt in a yard, along a mainline, or while walking to a location, you have the right to pursue FELA compensation if the company failed to protect you.

How FELA Differs From Workers’ Compensation

Under workers’ comp, fault doesn’t matter.

Under FELA, fault does matter, but the standard is relatively low.

You only have to show the railroad’s negligence played any role, even a small one, in causing your injury.

Examples of negligence for a trackman include:

• Not providing safe tools or working materials
• Ignoring unsafe weather or circumstances
• Failing to train employees on proper guidelines
• Allowing exposure to creosote, diesel fumes, herbicides, or other chemicals
• Poor supervision or rushed production plans
• Not following federal regulations
• Unsafe machine operation or staffing shortages
• Missing inspections or improper maintenance of equipment

If the company didn’t take proper steps to keep you safe, they can be held responsible.

Types of Compensation Available Under FELA

Unlike workers’ compensation, FELA allows full recovery of your losses.

Losses include:

• Medical expenses (current and future)
• Lost pay and reduced earning ability
• Pain, suffering, and loss of normal life
• Permanent disability
• Loss of benefits tied to your position
• Impact on your work-life balance and family life

These damages matter because many trackman injuries lead to lifelong problems affecting mobility, breathing, or the ability to continue your career.

If you suspect that your injuries or illnesses are connected to your years of service as a trackman, know that you might have a right to claim a settlement.

Evidence That Supports a Strong FELA Claim

Track work happens in fast-moving environments and often with little documentation.

That makes gathering evidence critical.

Useful FELA evidence for a trackman includes:

• Safety reports
• Maintenance logs
• Training videos
• Crew account statements
• Ballast, tie, or rail inspection data
• Exposure documentation for chemicals
• Photos or electronic records
• Medical evaluations
• Communication records from management
• Witness statements from members of your crew

Why FELA Matters for Chemical Exposure Cases

For long-term illnesses like cancers linked to creosote, diesel, solvents, welding fumes, or asbestos, FELA allows you to file a claim even if the exposure happened years earlier.

The clock starts when you knew or should have known your medical condition was related to your railroad work.

The law recognizes that trackman exposures build over time.

Many workers don’t connect a diagnosis to their job until a doctor explains the link or until they review their development records, job tasks, or old written safety materials.

The Filing Deadline You Should Know

FELA has a three-year statute of limitations.

For injuries, that’s three years from the accident.

For illnesses (especially respiratory disease or cancer), it’s three years from when you first realized the condition was related to your railroad job.

If you wait too long, the company will argue the claim is time-barred, even if the exposure clearly came from years of performing repairs, lifting equipment, or working around hazardous materials.

Working as a railroad trackman means dealing with heavy labor, harsh weather, constant maintenance demands, and long-term exposure to hazardous materials.

Our firm understands FELA and how to prove that unsafe practices, inadequate staffing, or defective equipment contributed to your injuries.

We move quickly to preserve evidence, interview witnesses, and work with medical and engineering experts to value your present and future losses.

You pay nothing unless we recover compensation.

Contact Gianaris Trial Lawyers for a free consultation today.

If your work has left you hurt, struggling with medical issues, or unable to continue your career, you have rights under FELA.

We’re here, ready to listen to your story.

Contact our firm today for a free consultation or use the chatbot on this page.