HONOLULU (CN) — Some suspected this day may never arrive. But after nearly 20 years, Honolulu’s very first light-rail transit system opened its doors at last to the public Friday afternoon.
“My aunty lives by the station over by Pearlridge; I’ve seen from the beginning when they first started building it up,” Aidan, one of the train’s first riders, said. “I was a little kid then, and now we finally can ride. It’s crazy.”
Dubbed the Skyline by city officials just ahead of its June 30 opening day, the transit system consisting of a raised railway supported by 30-foot-columns has been an infamous part of Hawaii lore since the very first days of its development, usually as the subject of much derision and mocking.
Simply called “Rail” by Hawaii residents throughout its planning and construction process, the mass transit system has had a contentious political and financial past. Though the idea of some sort of rail system has been kicked around since the 1960s, it wasn’t until around 2006 that the project that would become Skyline came to fruition.
The project has spanned multiple Hawaii governors and Honolulu mayors, with the question of what to do about rail becoming one of Hawaii elections’ major issues.
City officials, in an agreement with the Federal Transit Administration in 2012, had predicted the entire 20-mile rail system would be completed by 2020 at around half the current cost. Now estimated to cost around $10 billion, funded primarily by local taxpayers with a couple billion from federal grants and city subsidies, only a portion of the system is operational.
A roughly 11-mile stretch of the rail opened services Friday for west Oahu, reaching from Kapolei, a major suburb outside of Honolulu, to Hālawa, home of the island’s now shuttered Aloha Stadium. This phase of the project services nine stations in a couple key locations on the west side, including the University of Hawaii’s West Oahu campus, along with suburban towns like Waipahu and Pearl City.
Despite the years of controversy, Oahu residents turned out in droves to finally hop on the electric, driverless trains.
“I’ve spent the last 10 years paying for it; I had to come get my money’s worth!” Cecily joked while waiting in the blazing Hawaiian summer sun in a line that looped around Hālawa Aloha Stadium station and stretched down the narrow sidewalk abutting Kamehameha Highway behind the station. “It’s about time we get something come out of all this.”
Leading up to opening day, city officials had feared the operating system could become overwhelmed by crowds and that the crowds themselves would be overwhelmed by Skyline’s newness.
City Transportation Services deputy director Jon Nouchi promoted best practices for boarding and exiting trains at a Thursday press conference, emphasizing an “elevator etiquette” for those new to rail systems and encouraging riders to be mindful of which track they are heading to, to prevent riding in the wrong direction.
With a maile lei untying and accompanied by hula performances and music from the Royal Hawaiian Band, Skyline was officially opened Friday morning with an inaugural ride enjoyed by local dignitaries.
The opening ceremony was attended by Governor Josh Green, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz and former U.S. Representative Colleen Hanabusa, who also chairs the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit board.
Blangiardi, the fourth mayor to inherit the project since Mayor Mufi Hannemann approved it in 2007, called Skyline “historic” and “iconic."
“Today's opening of Skyline begins a truly transformative era of Hawaii. It’s the culmination of years of hard work to fulfill what was a very bold vision,” he said in a speech.
