honolulu rail

When state lawmakers added new members to the HART board to help scrutinize the growing costs of Honolulu’s rail system, it actually made it more difficult to get a quorum and get business done. That’s why a question to amend the city charter will appear on the ballot next week. HART board chairman Damien Kim sat down with us yesterday afternoon to explain why voters are being asked to tweak the makeup and operation of the board.

Banking for Dispensaries; Technical Challenges of Urban Rail; Women in Business

Rail Finance; Political Dog Whistles; Molokai Community Plan

The Transient Accommodation Tax or T-A-T is the buzzword of the week. At least it will be at the Hawai‘i State Capitol, where lawmakers are in special session to come up with a plan to finance the Honolulu rail project. HPR’s Ku‘uwehi Hiraishi tells us why this tax is so popular. 

No one person decided the rail system Honolulu is currently embarked on.  In 2008, 50.6% of voters decided to allow the construction of a steel on steel rail transit system.  There were expert panels, studies, reports, and key City Council decisions, which were shaped by input.  HPR’s Noe Tanigawa talked with former Mayor Mufi Hannemann who was spearheading the rail project at the time.  It was pegged at 5.2 billion dollars.

  There were a few key junctures in the long, convoluted story of Honolulu’s rail project.  Getting the point five percent general excise tax increase was one, and the decision to go with an elevated system is another.  HPR’s Noe Tanigawa is taking an average citizen’s look at the project and had a chance to talk with two key players involved in the project’s beginnings.

  Since before Honolulu's elevated rail broke ground, architect Scott Wilson has advocated for a different system. Still rail but 'at grade.' In a report released this year he re-energized that idea to transform the bloated project once it reaches town. Scott Wilson will be on the show to answer calls and questions.

Outlook for the E-Cig Industry; A Local School Goes Paperless; Future of HART

Campbell estate heiress Abigail Kawānanakoa has filed a lawsuit against the City and County of Honolulu to re-address the City Council’s approval of the rail project.  The lawsuit seeks to invalidate key votes of two former Honolulu City Council members who favored the rail project.  Former city council members Romy Cachola and Nestor Garcia agreed to pay fines to the city ethics commission for accepting gifts from lobbyists who profited from rail construction.

Bridget G. Morgan is an attorney representing Kawānanakoa. 

A Hawaii congressman has a new idea to help a couple of major roadways on Oahu. The financial impact of light rail construction has slowed repairs to Kamehameha and Farrington Highways.  The two corridors serve as vital links between Aiea and Waipahu for residents, and require improvements brought on by the rail.

On this Town Square, a progress report on Honolulu's rail project with Mayor Kirk Caldwell and HART Executive Director & CEO, Daniel Grabauskas. 

O’ahu’s 5.3 billion dollar rail transit project is facing harsh financial challenges and probably will not be built on budget or on time.   HPR’s Wayne Yoshioka reports.

  Honolulu’s rail system is still a couple of years away from opening its first section. But another multi-billion dollar train deal overseas is making local headlines in two countries.  HPR’s Bill Dorman has more in today’s Asia Minute.

Honolulu’s Rail Transit system is scheduled to begin operating in three years. City officials are currently working on development and zoning plans for land along the transit route. HPR’s Wayne Yoshioka has this update.

Construction of Honolulu’s 5.2 billion dollar Rail Transit System is moving toward the urban center at a steady pace.  The focus of the City Council’s Budget Committee yesterday was on the project’s impact on Kaka’ako businesses.  HPR’s Wayne Yoshioka has this update.

  The Honolulu Rail system is still at least five years from completion. The first section is scheduled to operate in 2017, with the entire system up and running by 2019. This week, another metro rail system took a big step forward...in Mumbai, India. HPR’s Bill Dorman has more on that in today’s Asia Minute.

Honolulu’s 5.1 billion dollar rail transit project is set to make a major push toward the city in the next few weeks as construction of the major guide-way system is ramped up and put into place.   HPR’s Wayne Yoshioka reports.     

Construction on the Honolulu Rail Transit system resumed today following a year-long delay to complete archeological studies ordered by the Hawai’i Supreme Court. HPR’s Wayne Yoshioka attended the early morning start-up in West O’ahu and filed this report.

The U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco heard oral arguments from both sides in the federal rail transit lawsuit today. The proceeding was transmitted via live video feed to the Honolulu Federal Courthouse. HPR’s Wayne Yoshioka was there and filed this report.

The Honolulu Rail Transit Project is currently in limbo, awaiting decisions and clearances from Federal and State Courts on a number of environmental and cultural challenges.  But as HPR’s Wayne Yoshioka reports, these pending actions are not stopping the construction industry from moving forward with its plans to build rail - and more importantly - to take part in the development boom expected to follow.

The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation is working on the next step of the city’s multi-billion dollar rail project. Officials are preparing a report on their archeological survey, which was completed last month. Across the Pacific, another rail project is at a very different stage—HPR’s Bill Dorman has more in today’s Asia Minute.