Learn French: Le travailleur est en train de déplacer le sable avec la pelle. - The worker is currently moving the sand with the shovel.

In French, the normal present tense (il déplace) translates to both 'he moves' and 'he is moving'. However, when you want to emphasize that an action is happening right at this very moment, you use être en train de followed by the infinitive. It translates closely to 'is in the middle of moving' or 'is currently moving'.

Does the word train here have anything to do with actual railway trains?

Not anymore! While it looks exactly like the word for a locomotive, train here comes from an old French word meaning 'pace' or 'continuous movement'. So the expression être en train de literally means being in the pace or course of an action.

Why use déplacer for 'to move' instead of bouger?

Déplacer is specifically used when you relocate something from one place to another (literally to 'de-place' it). Bouger is used for physical movement without necessarily changing location, like moving your arm or fidgeting. Since the worker is relocating the sand, déplacer is the correct verb here.

Would it be normal to call this worker l'ouvrier instead of le travailleur?

Yes, definitely. Le travailleur is a broad word for any type of worker. Since this person is doing manual labor with a shovel, l'ouvrier (a manual worker or laborer) would actually be a more precise and common choice in everyday French.