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The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit (HART) is currently building the city’s new driverless light rail system along the south shore of Oahu. The Honolulu Railroad, which began construction on February 22, 2011, is expected to connect key employment centers, tourist destinations and residential communities and offer an alternative method of public transportation to Oahu’s only bus option. 

Additionally, the Honolulu Railroad is expected to have a huge impact on Oahu real estate, with transit-oriented development (TOD) of housing, services and jobs planned for each rail stop. The railroad and planned development around it could transform real estate on Oahu, according to the City and County of Honolulu.

However, the railroad was once promised to open in 2020, and in 2012 the Federal Transit Administration was promised a construction budget of $5.2 billion. Railroad construction is now progressing much more slowly than promised, and the proposed budget has doubled, with frequent calls for additional funds being reported. Because of these and many other controversies, many people may be wondering when they will finally be able to ride the Honolulu Railroad. 

System and stations

The 20-mile rail system includes 21 stations:

1. East Kapolei (Kualaka’i)
2. UH West Oahu (Keone’ae)
3. Ho’opili (Honouliuli)
4. West Loch (Ho’ae’ae)
5. Waipahu Transit Center (Pouhala)
6. Leeward Community College (Halaulani)
7. Pearl Highlands (Waiawa)
8. Pearlridge (Kalauao)
9. Aloha Stadium (Halawa)
10. Pearl Harbor Naval Base (Makalapa)
11. Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (Lelepaua)
12. Lagoon Drive (Ahua)
13. Middle Street Transit (Kahauiki)
14. Kalihi (Mokauea)
15. Kapalama/Honolulu Community College (Niuhelewai)
16. Iwilei (Kuwili)
17. Chinatown (Holau)
18. Downtown (Kuloloia)
19. Civic Center (Ka’akaukukui)
20. Kaka’ako (Kukuluae’o)
21. Ala Moana Center (Kaka’ako)

The trip from East Kapolei to Ala Moana Center is expected to take 42 minutes, and from Honolulu Airport to Ala Moana Center is expected to take 16 minutes.

Please note that each station also has a Hawaiian name, reflecting forgotten names, places and events in Hawaiian culture. The Honolulu City Council decided to have a team of experts gather community knowledge, ethnographic research and oral histories to develop accurate and culturally authentic station names – in hopes of perpetuating Hawaii’s traditions, culture and history for many generations to come.

Each station will have the following enticing features:

• Stairs, escalators and elevators
• Mobile service personnel
• Toilets
• Bicycle racks
• Ticket vending machines
• CCTV cameras
• Security Lighting
• ADA Compliant

A number of educational institutions are located along the railroad: UH-West Oahu, Leeward Community College, Honolulu Community and Hawaii Pacific University. HART says a rail line could be built in the future to connect the Ala Moana Center stop with UH-Manoa.

The railway system will be powered by green electricity. The railway is planned to be powered by alternative energy sources such as solar, wind and biofuels. The Railroad Operations Center (ROC), located between Waipahu High School and Leeward Community College, is a 43-acre LEED-certified building where trains will be maintained.

The railway will be integrated with the city’s bus system with a single system-wide transit card called the Holo Card , making it easier to move from station to workplace or entertainment.

Trains

The new Honolulu Rail Transit trains are touted as having top-notch features, including the following:

• Fully automated and driverless
• Air conditioner
• Free Wi-Fi connection
• ADA compliant, with priority areas for wheelchairs
• Bicycles, surfboards, strollers, refrigerators and luggage are allowed on trains.
• Visual displays
• Audio announcements
• CCTV cameras and telephone booths in every train carriage
• Average speed 30 mph, top speed 55 mph.

There will be a total of 20 four-car trains, of which 17 trains will operate during peak hours and 8 trains will operate during off-peak periods. A four-car train has a maximum capacity of 800 passengers, with 188 seats on each four-car train.

Honolulu Rail Frequently Asked Questions

When will the Honolulu Railroad be built?

HART Honolulu says the first 10 miles of rail could open this year in 2021 — from East Kapolei to Aloha Stadium — and could operate at limited hours. However, opening the railroad to passengers will depend on resolving several problems that were discovered during trial tests of the Honolulu Railroad: faulty crossing tracks and wheels that were too small for the width of the track. While the first section of rail construction is said to work fine on straight tracks, when trains have problems at intersections; to resolve these problems, the tracks may have to be removed and replaced, which could result in a two-year delay in the railway’s opening to passengers.

Honolulu Rail’s second opening will be at the Middle Street Transit Center, which has an opening date currently undetermined. This second opening will include stops at Pearl Harbor and Daniel K. Inouye International Airport.

HART officials say the entire 20-mile system could be up and running by 2031 if there are no further delays. The railroad is expected to run from downtown Ala Moana to Kapolei by then. But former Mayor Kirk Caldwell said the railroad may not actually open fully until 2033 — a delay of 13 years from what was promised to the federal government.

Construction of the Honolulu Railroad continues near the airport. Stations near the end of the Ewa Railroad were being completed, and utilities were being transferred to the railroad through Kalihi, downtown, and in the Ala Moana area. However, relocating utilities along Dillingham Boulevard to the final 4 miles of the railroad proved difficult in 2020 and 2021, as traffic and permitting issues and limited underground space caused various problems. Work continues to move overhead communications over Dillingham Boulevard, and the original route of the Honolulu Railroad has moved close to the mountains or Mauka through part of Kalihi.

Throughout 2021, HART and Hitachi Rail will conduct dynamic train testing between East Kapolei Station and Aloha Stadium Station. This testing allows the train system to be configured with automatic signaling and proper operation and maintenance. So, if you look up above the freeway and see a train moving along the tracks, there are no passengers inside yet, but instead HART is simulating a normal train schedule to prepare passengers for the fact that they will soon be traveling on the Honolulu Railroad.

Testing will continue in 2021, especially for crossings on the section of the railroad from East Kapolei to Aloha Stadium. This trial run must run for 90 days without any glitches, and then the Hawaii Department of Transportation and Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi will decide when people will finally be able to ride the rail.

As of this writing, 62% of the entire project has been completed, including the full 20 miles and 21 stations.

Has COVID-19 affected HART Honolulu’s plans for the railroad?

At the start of the coronavirus pandemic in the spring of 2020, Governor Ige and Mayor Caldwell stated that the Honolulu rail project was “essential infrastructure,” so construction of the Honolulu Rail Transit continued without interruption. 

HART’s Safety and Human Resources departments have implemented safe work practices for construction and office personnel to continue work toward the completion of the Oahu Railroad. About 80% of office employees worked from home, facilitating physical distancing at HART. Railroad construction crews were provided with additional personal protective equipment, and HART Honolulu conducted site compliance inspections to ensure safe working conditions and compliance with regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While railroad construction has continued during the COVID-19 pandemic, financing the railroad has become more difficult due to the pandemic and its impact on Hawaii’s economy. The Hawaii State Legislature has approved additional funds for the railroad in the past: $1.5 billion in 2015 and $2.4 billion in 2017. However, due to the state’s budget crisis due to the pandemic, future funds for the railroad are unknown. . In addition, HART received millions of dollars less in hotel rooms and excise taxes as tourism dried up and Hawaii’s economy weakened.

As part of some of the COVID-19 relief packages that passed Congress in March 2021, Senator Brian Schatz, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, was able to secure $70 million for a Honolulu rail transit project. The Oahu Railroad lost approximately $376 in tax revenue during the COVID pandemic due to lower premises and excise taxes, as well as HART reports .

When will the Honolulu Railroad be operational? What is the planned work schedule?

When the trains are fully operational, they will run 20 hours a day, from 4 a.m. to midnight. During peak times, such as rush hour, 17 four-car trains will arrive at the station approximately every five minutes. During off-peak hours they will arrive approximately every 11 minutes. Honolulu Railroad trains will operate at a maximum speed of 55 mph and an average speed of 30 mph.

HART estimates that in 2030, 121,000 passengers will ride the rail every weekday, and about 55 percent of those passengers will walk or bike to the station. They also, in addition to Honolulu Rail, removed 40,000 car trips from Honolulu’s busy roads, reducing gasoline consumption by 16,000 gallons. 

The Honolulu Railroad could change the way Oahu residents and visitors get around the island, but we’ll have to wait until it opens—possibly this year—to see its impact.

Who is paying for rail transit in Honolulu?

The $1.55 billion construction cost for the Honolulu Railroad is being covered by Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funds. As of July 2020, HART had received just over $800 million from a $1.55 billion federal grant that was approved in 2012; The FTA has not allocated any new funds to HART since 2014 because it wants Honolulu to be able to demonstrate it has a plan to complete the railroad with the necessary funding. In addition, the US Department of Justice and the FBI have opened a criminal investigation into the Honolulu Railroad project. 

In April 2021, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, along with City Council Chairman Tommy Waters and Acting HART Executive Director Lori Kahikina, sent a letter to Hawaii’s congressional delegation asking for an additional $800 million to build the railroad from Middle Street to Ala Moana. Center. However, the message was fairly clear that the federal government had no plans to approve additional funding for the Honolulu Railroad.

In addition to federal funding, another large percentage is paid for by tourists shopping on Oahu through a 0.5% General Excise Tax (GET) surcharge. The remainder of Honolulu’s rail transit is paid for by all Hawaii residents and businesses through a 0.5% GET surcharge that has been levied since 2007 and will continue through 2027. The Honolulu Rail Transit project is its largest source of funding.

HART Honolulu is also using short-term bonds to finance construction of the railroad, which will be repaid with federal funds and additional revenue from the GET.

The latest  operating budget  for building the full 20-mile Honolulu Railroad is $12.4 billion, not including about $1 billion in financing costs. This is approximately 150% more expensive than originally promised.

I see elevated train tracks in the landscape of West Oahu. Why was this design chosen for Honolulu?

While some people may view the rails as an eyesore in Hawaii’s skies, others may view them as an innovative transportation method that will transform Oahu. During the design phase, many professionals and community members collaborated on the final design. 

Ultimately, Honolulu’s surface rail service was chosen due to its safety, efficiency and reliability. Cars and pedestrians will not interfere with the train and vice versa, avoiding collisions and ensuring that train passengers reach their destination on time, regardless of traffic congestion. Additionally, the above-ground system is less expensive than the underground alternative.

Steel train wheels and steel rail technology were recommended by a group of engineers and transportation experts and approved by Oahu voters in 2008. Steel-on-steel technology was then one of the most advanced technologies in the world and said to be quiet, smooth and efficient.

What is HART Honolulu?

HART stands for Honolulu Rapid Transit Authority and is a semi-autonomous government agency responsible for the planning, construction, operation and maintenance of Honolulu’s rail transit. HART has a 14-member board consisting of the Director of the Department of Transportation, the Director of the City of Honolulu Department of Transportation Services and 11 community volunteers (three appointed by the Mayor, three by the City Council, three by the State Legislature). The voting members then appoint a fourteenth member to the board. 

HART employs hundreds of workers and business partners to build the rail and is ultimately responsible for its completion. In January 2021, HART named Lori Kahikina, the city’s environmental director, as its interim CEO after HART decided not to renew the contract of former CEO Andrew Robbins. Within the first few months of Kahikina’s start, nearly 50% of the city employees who were working for HART when she arrived were no longer employed, many were fired and some resigned.

“I am ready to accept the challenge of advancing this important project,” Kahikina said in a public statement. “I am committed to doing what I can for the people of the City and County of Honolulu and our entire state.”

And Oahu residents and visitors are hoping that HART will soon complete construction on the first section so Honolulu Rail travel can begin in the next few months!