Media
Links to Stories About Rail
We will continue to provide links to new and older articles about the Honolulu rail project and the process of building, planning and funding the system. Listen the a former HART board member interviewed by Rick Hamada here.
Ridership Projections Have Dropped - CB
In yet another bit of bad news for rail, the projected ridership for the city’s half-built, $12.4 billion train system from Kapolei to Ala Moana has declined, according to rail authority Executive Director Lori Kahikina.
INSIGHTS ON PBS HAWAIʻI
PBS
Hawaii
Honolulu’s Rail System – Where Are We Now? Air Date: Thu, Apr 29, 2021 8:00 PM
Honolulu’s Rail System – Where Are We Now? Air Date: Thu, Apr 29, 2021 8:00 PM
Rail to Nowhere: Honolulu, Hawaii's Train Boondoggle
Here's a reason.TV report from 2013. Still timely today and all of the predictions have come to fruition.
Honolulu rail project faces $3 billion budget shortfall
The city’s $11 billion rail project has a budget shortfall of $3 billion and the new interim CEO sees no clear path to plugging the deficit.
Hawaii News Now Page
Visit the Hawaii NewS Now page on the Honolulu rail project. Detailed stories to bring you up to date with the issues.
News Stories
What now for Honolulu’s rail project? Star Advertiser 9/11/21:
August 30, 2021 • 44 min Listen here
Rick Hamada interviews Joe Uno, former Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit board member who was ousted after a 5-4 City Council vote earlier this year. Uno details expenditures of the ongoing construction of the Honolulu Rail Project and the damage the spiraling costs are doing to the city, now and in the future.
Lots of finger pointing as Honolulu rail runs out of money... it became clear the city didn't have enough money to finish it. Much finger pointing and hang wringing has ensued. Read More
Rick Hamada interviews Joe Uno, former Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit board member who was ousted after a 5-4 City Council vote earlier this year. Uno details expenditures of the ongoing construction of the Honolulu Rail Project and the damage the spiraling costs are doing to the city, now and in the future.
Civil Beat-
Alternatives To The Last Honolulu Rail Leg? HART Releases A ‘Matrix’ Of Ideas. 2 June 2021
HART and the City
must still come up with a workable financial plan and get this project
up and running. Schatz said, “...HART and the City must still come up
with a workable financial plan.” Read More
Honolulu rail
project faces $3 billion budget shortfall. The city's $11 billion rail
project has a budget shortfall and the new interim CEO sees no clear
path to plugging the deficit. Read More
Lots of finger pointing as Honolulu rail runs out of money... it became clear the city didn't have enough money to finish it. Much finger pointing and hang wringing has ensued. Read More
Honolulu rail
line CEO estimates project is short $3 billion. Making HART more
efficient and cutting costs will not plug the $3 billion deficit, she
said. Read More
Honolulu rail
authority CEO says another delay possible. Some train wheels do not
properly fit track crossings in some sections of the project. Read More
(2020) Mayor:
Honolulu’s rail project will cost over $1 billion more than expected and
won’t be completed until eight years after the state had initially
scheduled, Read More
Could
Self-Driving Cars And Buses Replace The Last Leg Of Rail? Longtime
critics want to stop the elevated train at Middle Street, then embrace
new transportation technologies for the rest of the route.
Read More
(2016) Hopelessly Over-Budget, Rail Should Stop At Middle Street, Mayor (Caldwell) Says he wants to stop the line — for now — nearly five miles short of its originally intended destination. Read More
(2011) Price Drops for Rail System (look at how they underestimated price back then)The cost to build Honolulu's rail transit system has decreased to $5.3 billion from $5.5 billion, according to the latest draft of the city's financial plan, released yesterday. The financial plan will be sent to the Federal Transit Administration for review. Read More
Read More
(2016) Hopelessly Over-Budget, Rail Should Stop At Middle Street, Mayor (Caldwell) Says he wants to stop the line — for now — nearly five miles short of its originally intended destination. Read More
(2011) Price Drops for Rail System (look at how they underestimated price back then)The cost to build Honolulu's rail transit system has decreased to $5.3 billion from $5.5 billion, according to the latest draft of the city's financial plan, released yesterday. The financial plan will be sent to the Federal Transit Administration for review. Read More
Why the Washington DC Metro System Is a Complete Disaster
The capital of the world’s only superpower has a third world problem: You can’t get there from here using public transportation. The forty-year-old Metro mass-transit system, designed to be a model for the rest of the world, is falling apart. And though there’s widespread agreement that the system needs a drastic overhaul, deep political divisions impede efforts to find a solution. So the failures mount. Read More
The capital of the world’s only superpower has a third world problem: You can’t get there from here using public transportation. The forty-year-old Metro mass-transit system, designed to be a model for the rest of the world, is falling apart. And though there’s widespread agreement that the system needs a drastic overhaul, deep political divisions impede efforts to find a solution. So the failures mount. Read More
HART’s alleged mishandling of Hanabusa contract-Hawaii News Now Video - 17 June 2021 A state lawmaker and a political watchdog are calling for an investigation into the rail authority’s attempt to award a lucrative lobbying contract to former Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa. Watch
As costs balloon, Honolulu rail board looks at stopping troubled project at Middle Street. Read More
Honolulu rail
project faces $3 billion budget shortfall and the new interim CEO sees
no clear path to plugging the deficit. The CEO said "There’s a huge gap
that we need to fill. … I don’t have the answers how to fix it." Read More
Another $800M For
Rail? Don’t Count On It, Schatz Says: "The time for “magical thinking”
is over, he said. Billions of dollars will not 'fall out of the sky from
Washington.'"
Read More
Honolulu rail a ‘political project’ that’s ready for a remake. Video interview with Joe Uno. When will Hawaii’s leadership acknowledge that it’s time for new thinking on the Honolulu rail boondoggle?
Read More
Honolulu rail line CEO estimates project is short $3 billion. There’s a huge gap that we need to fill. … I don’t have the answers how to fix it,” Kahikina said. Read More
Honolulu rail a ‘political project’ that’s ready for a remake. Video interview with Joe Uno. When will Hawaii’s leadership acknowledge that it’s time for new thinking on the Honolulu rail boondoggle?
Read More
Honolulu rail line CEO estimates project is short $3 billion. There’s a huge gap that we need to fill. … I don’t have the answers how to fix it,” Kahikina said. Read More
Honolulu rail
line CEO stops construction on one segment. She ordered the stop to
building in the Dillingham area....“The reason I stopped it was we
actually did not have 100% design drawings complete,” she said.
Read More
Read More
It’s
Not Too Late To Build Rail Better. Civil Beat editorial: Let’s consider
stopping at Middle Street and connecting the train to better
transportation modes. Read More
Lots of finger pointing as Honolulu rail runs out of money....it became clear the city didn't have enough money to finish it. Much finger pointing and hang wringing has ensued. Read More
If the trains draw too much power as they speed up to leave stations, it could affect the use of household appliances and other electrical-powered equipment. Read More