Honolulu « The Transport Politic

Rapid Transit Closer to Realization as Honolulu’s Rail Project Breaks Ground

February 22nd, 2011 |

» $5.5 billion, automated rail corridor is expected to attract 100,000 daily riders once it is completed in 2019.

A week after the Federal Transit Administration recommended it for New Starts funding, Honolulu’s rapid transit project took a step forward today with a ceremonial groundbreaking. The massive scheme, which will extend 20 miles from downtown to East Kapolei once construction is finished in 2019, will radically redefine transport on Oahu, offering residents a true alternative to traffic-plagued surface streets and highways.

Honolulu and the surrounding municipalities — incorporated into Honolulu County — are hemmed in by a geography whose natural barriers

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It's Governor Lingle versus Mayor Hannemann on Honolulu Rail Project

January 11th, 2010 |

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» The recession pushes the Governor to argue for changes, including a conversion from heavy rail to light rail; the Mayor of Honolulu stays the course.

At $5.35 billion, it was bound to provoke a fight.

Honolulu’s planned heavy rail transit system, which would run 20.2 miles between East Kapolei and Ala Mona Center by 2019, is expected to serve more than 100,000 daily riders along its 21-station elevated guideway. That is, if the city is able to secure a federal New Starts Full Funding Grant Agreement as planned in 2011, and as long as it is capable of maintaining adequate

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Still in Planning, Ambitious Honolulu Rail Transit Project May be in Financial Trouble

August 21st, 2009 |

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Tax revenues fall short in paying for 20-mile system, connecting downtown with Kapolei.

Yesterday, the Honolulu Advertiser revealed that in May the city had reviewed the costs of its planned transit system and realized that revenues over a 13-year period would be short $500 million compared to previous estimates. The news came as a bombshell for proponents of the rail line, who have worked hard in recent months to defend the credibility of the project. It gives additional ammunition to opponents who still hope to prevent the project’s construction, and were able to harp on the city’s secrecy as evidence of corruption.

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Is Elevated Acceptable?

May 19th, 2009 |

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Honolulu debates the look of its future transit system.

Is a new high-capacity transit system worth the visual encumberments it will cause? Should the views of a beautiful tropical city be obstructed for the benefit of passengers on public transportation? That’s the question now being debated in Honolulu, which is planning an elevated rail line that will run throughout the city.

Hawaii’s biggest city is planning a 20-mile transit line, running from Kapolei in the west to Ala Moana Center downtown, via Waipahu and the airport. Honolulu’s density is high enough to require a rail system with a fully independent right-of-way; the city’s

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