Standing watch at the Hālawa Aloha Stadium Skyline Station, train operator Ray Ignacio peeked into the arriving train.
Each morning, he rides the rail in the morning for inspection sweeps. He makes sure the rail is clear for service. Though the trains are automatic and driverless, Ignacio, as a train operator, is a fail-safe.
"If trains break down, it's my responsibility to operate it manually and take it to the next station where I can evacuate all people and then take the train back into the yard," Ignacio said.
The first of three segments of Honolulu's Skyline rail opens on June 30.
The 10.75-mile stretch goes from Hālawa Aloha Stadium to Kualakaʻi East Kapolei. It’s about a 22-minute one-way ride, or 45 minutes roundtrip.
The $10 billion light rail system is decades in the making and has been shortened over time due to funding, delays and other structural issues. Rail skeptics remain critical of the lack of service.
The ride offers sweeping views of Oʻahu, kalo farms, the Pacific Ocean, and regular, everyday life in the towns it passes through and over.
"The views are amazing," Ignacio said. "I enjoy my job."
Ignacio proudly said he was the first train operator hired in the state. Before that, he was a truck driver. Though it's been a learning curve, he said he's excited to be part of a new team.
"We are one team, we're one multimodal transportation team here in Honolulu, which really helps to integrate Skyline in with TheBus and TheHandi-Van," Jon Nouchi, the city’s Department of Transportation Services deputy director, said.
DTS will make changes to a dozen bus routes starting on July 1, connecting bus and rail lines more seamlessly. HOLO cards will be used to board both TheBus and Skyline, and transfers and fare caps will still work.
When the rail opens on June 30 at 2 p.m., rides will be free, with gates open at all nine stations. Beginning July 1, riders will need a HOLO Card to board, though fares will not be collected.
And speaking of HOLO cards, there are several limited designs featuring Skyline’s mascot: the manu-o-Kū.
"Right now, we have a lot of buzz because we didn't just do one limited edition HOLO Card," Nouchi said. "We did three and they're going to be out there in the wild and people will want to collect them."
This first run includes 10,000 cards, Nouchi said, hinting at a possible second run in the future.
