People could be riding the Honolulu rail by the end of 2022, HART’s CEO says

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation says it’s hopeful residents will be using trains by the end of the year ― even as construction in the urban corridor continues.

In an interview with Hawaii News Now on Thursday, HART CEO Lori Kahikina also said that discussions are still underway on the recovery plan.

She added they are currently in testing and commissioning with Hitachi. Once the plans are completed, they will submit documentation to HART.

The state and city would need to approve the documents before a mandatory 90-day trial run would begin.

“We’re shooting for the trial run to start in July,” said Kahikina.

The HART recovery plan would temporarily truncate the scope of the project. For now, the rail will be more than a mile short of its goal and stop at Civic Center temporarily.

“We went through board approval, we went through City Council approval, and we submitted it about a month early to FTA last week, Friday,” said Kahikina.

“So now they’re reviewing it, and we have to probably negotiate with them to see if they will approve it.”

Kahikina is hopeful completed portions of the rail will be operational by the end of the year.

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