California Public Utilities Commission to be briefed on SMART train at Santa Rosa meeting

California Public Utilities Commission members will receive a briefing on the North Bay’s nascent commuter rail system at a meeting of the state regulatory board Thursday in Santa Rosa.

The five-member commission is set to hear a report from PUC managers on the status of the SMART project and the agency’s role in “seeing it is a success and safe,” according to Christopher Chow, a PUC spokesman.

That report is scheduled near the start of the meeting, which begins at 9:30 a.m. in the Santa Rosa City Council chambers at 100 Santa Rosa Avenue.

SMART expects to begin service in late spring along a 43-mile rail line from north Santa Rosa to downtown San Rafael.

The PUC regulates privately owned electric, natural gas, telecommunications, water, railroad, rail transit and passenger transportation companies. It specifically has safety and security regulatory authority over all rail transit agencies in California and works in cooperation with the Federal Transit Administration.

Californians spend more than $50 billion annually for services from industries regulated by the PUC.

The San Francisco-based commission is holding several meetings around the state this year, with future sessions scheduled in Merced, Sacramento and San Diego.