Where we are in the world
Honolulu, the largest city in Hawaii, has a population of close to 1 million (using the definition of “urban area”) but relies heavily on roads for transport; in fact, there are no passenger rail lines in the entire state. The Honolulu Rail Transit (HART) project is the current rendition of an effort to provide a functioning commuter rail service to Honolulu residents, an effort that has lasted since the 1960s.
For other maps on transit routes, see posts on the Alaska Marine Highway System and Teleférico do Alemão in Rio de Janeiro!
See the interactive Google Map at the bottom of the post!
Three key facts about this map
The first lines of the Honolulu Rail Transit were supposed to open in 2020
The section of the HART between East Kapolei (Kualaka’i) and the Aloha Stadium (Halawa) is the first stretch of track to open – the original opening date was slated for 2020, however cost and testing overruns have pushed the opening date to late 2023. The full stretch of currently planned stations to Ala Moana (Kalia) was originally supposed to open in 2025, but for similar reasons has been delayed until 2031.
Correction: Originally, the full 20 mile track from Kapolei to Ala Moana was supposed to open in 2020 at a budget of ~$5bn. This plan was shortened afterwards to only the 10.5 mile track from Kapolei to Aloha Stadium, which will be opened in late 2023.
Costs for the initial stretch of tracks increased by 300% from 2006
The initial estimates for the Honolulu Rail Transit were $4 billion in 2006 before construction started. Today, these costs have ballooned to $12 billion+, a cost increase of 300%. Some of the reasons provided for the cost increases have been legal challenges and sourcing raw materials. Despite these reasons, the project has faced intense scrutiny from the public, and has been a focal point in many local Hawaiian elections over the past several decades.
There have been discussions to cut the planned Honolulu Rail Transit lines early
Due to the overwhelming cost and timeline overruns, there have been discussions on halting construction of the HART past Middle Street (Kahauiki) in order to avoid continued construction of elevated tracks through neighborhoods to Ala Moana (Kalia) station. Proposed alternatives to connect to Ala Moana have been busses or a street-level tram. Rail proponents however note that this alternative would do nothing to alleviate the bad traffic congestion problems in Honolulu currently.
Additional links and sources
- Article in Hawaii Business Magazine from the POV of one of the engineers (link, published in 2022)
- Article with the new CEO of the HART project (link, published in 2022)
- Article about the cost delays of the HART (link, published in 2021)
Have you seen the on-going construction of the Honolulu Rail Transit system yet?
See other places around the world Globe Charting has featured!
A few corrections. According to the full funding grant agreement with the FTA, the full 20 mile alignment from Kapolei to Ala Moana was supposed to be fully operational on 1/31/20 at a total cost of $5.12 billion. Not sure when the Kapolei to Aloha Stadium leg was supposed to be operational, but it should have been several years before the full 20 miles was contractually obligated to open. They’ve been continuously pushing back the partial opening since March of 2020. Currently the route has been shortened (again) to 18.75 miles with a budget of $10 billion and an swag completion date of 2030, but remember that both of those numbers were calculated at a probability of 65%. Also note that at one point, the “budget” was up to $12.45 billion with a completion date of 2031 before they started cutting it back.
Thanks for this comment! Made adjustments to reflect some of those details above. Its crazy how long this project has been going on for – seems like a lot of bureaucracy hindering the process. Will be great to see this operational some day! From a pure map-lover standpoint, this is such an interesting transit map to follow – I wonder if it will ever reach UH/Manoa in the future…