The Honolulu Rail Transit Project is an urban 20-mile rail rapid transit system under construction in Honolulu County, Oahu, Hawaii. The mostly-elevated system features design elements from both heavy rail systems and light metros, with a commuter rail-like design incorporated into trains and suburban stations. It will become the first large-scale publicly run metro system in the United States to feature platform screen doors and will be driver-less. It is estimated the project will cost $9.5 billion. 

 

The project constructs an elevated rapid transit line from the eastern edge of Kapolei, near the University of Hawaii-West Oahu campus, to Ala Moana Center (East of Honolulu downtown). The line passes through communities along southern Oahu, via Honolulu International Airport and downtown Honolulu. The long term plan includes four extensions: two extensions east, to the University of Hawaii-Manoa campus and to Waikiki, one extension west through Kapolei to Kalaeloa, and a link through Salt Lake. None of these extensions are currently funded, but in November 2017 the rail authority took a first step towards preserving a corridor for the extension between Ala Moana Center and the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

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SOL assists the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) by providing project management oversight services for the Honolulu Rail Transit Project.  SOL assesses and evaluates the development and implementation of each project and task to ensure is complies with all applicable statutes, regulations, and FTA guidance; proceeds in accordance with the terms of grant agreements; conforms with sound engineering and project management practices; and meets the requirements of the approved plans and specifications.

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The rail line will have twenty-one stations and the trains will operate with up to twenty departures per hour. The Rail will operate from 4am to midnight.

 

The first phase of the project, linking East Kapolei and Aloha Stadium, is scheduled to open in late 2020, while the second phase of the project continuing the line across urban Honolulu to Ala Moana Center is due to open in December 2025.