Meet the People Keeping California’s Railways Safe
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Every day, trains carry passengers and goods across California, moving through communities, across roadways, and along thousands of miles of track. Behind the scenes, the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) Rail Safety Division staff work to help ensure those rail systems operate safely.
For Rail Safety Month, we are introducing three of the people behind the work: James Matus of the Rail Transit Safety Branch, Matt Cervantes of the Rail Crossings and Engineering Branch, and Robert Stabler of the Railroad Operations and Safety Branch.
Each works in a different area of rail safety, but they share the same goal: helping keep California’s railways and the communities around them safe.
James Matus: Rail Transit Safety Branch
California’s rail transit systems help millions of people get where they need to go. The CPUC’s Rail Transit Safety Branch (RTSB) provides safety oversight of rail transit agencies throughout the state, helping ensure these systems meet state and federal safety requirements.
James Matus is one of the CPUC employees helping carry out that responsibility. In the video below, James shares more about his role, the rail safety work he is proud of in 2026, and why it’s important.
James Matus: Rail Transit Safety Branch
Matt Cervantes: Rail Crossings and Engineering Branch
Where railroad tracks and roadways meet, careful planning and safety oversight are especially important. The CPUC’s Rail Crossings and Engineering Branch (RCEB) evaluates rail crossings and works to improve safety where trains, vehicles, bicyclists, and pedestrians may interact.
Matt Cervantes helps support this work. Hear from Matt about his job, a project that stands out to him from 2026, and the work ahead.
Matt Cervantes: Rail Crossings and Engineering Branch
Robert Stabler: Railroad Operations and Safety Branch
Rail safety also means making sure railroad operations, equipment, and infrastructure meet important safety requirements. The CPUC’s Railroad Operations and Safety Branch (ROSB) conducts inspections and investigates potential safety issues involving freight and passenger railroads operating throughout California.
Robert Stabler is part of the team carrying out that work. In his interview, Rob introduces his role and discusses the work he and his colleagues are doing to help keep California’s railroad system safe.
Robert Stabler: Railroad Operations and Safety Branch
The People Behind Rail Safety
Rail safety is not one job or one type of inspection. It takes employees with different areas of expertise working together to oversee a complex rail system that stretches across California.
For James, Matt, Robert, and their colleagues throughout the Rail Safety Division, that means being in the field, reviewing projects, inspecting infrastructure and operations, identifying potential safety concerns, and working with railroads, transit agencies, local communities, and other partners.
During Rail Safety Month, the CPUC is proud to highlight some of the people doing this work every day. Their efforts may often happen behind the scenes, but their mission is straightforward: helping make California’s railways safer for passengers, workers, drivers, pedestrians, and communities across the state.
Learn more about the CPUC’s Rail Safety Division and its work to promote safe rail operations throughout California:
CPUC Rail Safety staff conducting inspections.
By Taseen Shamim, Public Information Officer
