NOC 72403: Railway carmen/women

Railway carmen/women inspect, troubleshoot, maintain and repair structural and mechanical components of railway freight, passenger and urban transit rail cars. They are employed by railway transport companies and urban transit systems. Apprentices are also included in this unit group.

Express Entry eligibility

• Skilled work (TEER 0 to 3): yes, TEER 2.
• Canadian Experience Class: counts as skilled Canadian work (1 year in the last 3 years).
• Federal Skilled Worker Program: counts as skilled work (1 year of continuous work in the last 10 years).
• Federal Skilled Trades Program: an eligible skilled trade (2 years in the last 5 years).
• High-wage occupation (from November 3, 2026): yes, 1.3× tier.

TEER 2: Occupations that usually need a college diploma, an apprenticeship of 2 or more years, or supervisory duties. Every program has other requirements too, such as language test results and, for FSW, a points test.

Category-based draws

NOC 72403 is not on any of IRCC’s occupation category lists. You can still be invited in general, Canadian Experience Class or other program draws.

Category lists checked on canada.ca on 2026-10-17. IRCC category-based selection

CRS points for work in NOC 72403

With 12+ months of Canadian work here, from November 3, 2026, by years of skilled Canadian work:

See Canadian work points and the median-wage rule.

Main duties

This group performs some or all of the following duties:

• Inspect interior and exterior components of freight, passenger and urban transit rail cars to determine defects and extent of wear and damage
• Repair and install railway car parts such as compressors, air valves, bearings, couplings, air cylinders and piping
• Repair and maintain electrical and electronic controls for propulsion and braking systems
• Repair defective or damaged metal and wood components, using hand and power tools
• Repair and repaint wooden fixtures
• Replace damaged windows and repair upholstery
• Test and adjust parts using testing gauges and other test equipment
• Perform and document routine maintenance.

For Express Entry your duties must match the lead statement and most of the main duties above.

Example job titles

• rail vehicle mechanic
• railway car inspector
• railway carman/woman
• railway carman/woman apprentice
• streetcar and subway car mechanic

Employment requirements

• Completion of secondary school is usually required.
• Completion of an industry-offered apprenticeship program or three to four years of on-the-job training is usually required.
• Trade certification is available, but voluntary, in Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia.

Similar jobs with a different code

• 72401Locomotive mechanic
• 72020Railway car repairer foreman/woman