The city’s Skyline rail service will be shut down for two weekends starting this Saturday.
Back in the fall, Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation CEO Lori Kahikina told HPR that the rail would have to be halted to connect and test the second segment, which consists of 5.2 miles of rail guideway from the Aloha Stadium Station to the Middle Street Transit Center.
The closure stands to inconvenience about 2,500 riders. Honolulu Department of Transportation Services Director Roger Morton said that they chose to close the rail on the weekends when ridership is about half of what it is on the weekdays.
He said that there has been little reaction from riders about the weekend closure announcement.
"The worry that we always have is, despite, no matter how much we try to do this, that we just don't reach everybody. People have lives and they don't necessarily really pay attention sometimes to what's going on," he said.
Morton said that audio announcements about the closure were broadcast on vehicles and buses two weeks ago. A written announcement was made on Jan. 6.
"If we had made an announcement two weeks ago... our experience is riders sometimes would forget about it if it's too far away from the event," he said.
Currently, Hitachi, a contractor for Skyline, operates the Segment Two trains through a temporary control system. While Skyline is closed over the next two weekends, Hitachi will be migrating the segment's devices to the primary control system.
"That's a complicated effort that requires really careful planning and some time to make sure that we're doing it right," he said. "After these two shutdowns are over, then our entire Segment One plus our Segment Two will be operated through the primary control system."
Morton said the trains will be able to travel through to Middle Street, but the public will be unable to ride past Aloha Stadium due to safety aspects on the new segment that have yet to be certified.
The first section of the rail system from East Kapolei to Aloha Stadium has been open to the public since 2023. DTS hopes to have the new segment open by the end of 2025, connecting the existing part to Middle Street and adding stops for Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam and the airport.
Morton apologized to riders who may be inconvenienced this weekend and next. Alternative bus services will be available between the following stations:
| Kualakaʻi East Kapolei and Keoneʻae UH West Oʻahu Skyline Station | Routes C, 46, 416, 461 |
| Keoneʻae UH West Oʻahu and Hōʻaeʻae West Loch Station | Route 40 |
| Hōʻaeʻae West Loch and Pouhala Waipahu Transit Center Station | Routes 40, 42, E, W1 |
| Pouhala Waipahu Transit Center and Waiawa Pearl Highlands Station | Routes 40, 42 |
| Waiawa Pearl Highlands to Kalauao Pearlridge Station | Routes 40, 42, 51 |
| Kalauao Pearlridge to Hālawa Aloha Stadium Station | Routes A, 32, 40, 42, 51, A |
This interview aired on The Conversation on Jan. 8, 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
