A glimpse at the Honolulu Rail
by Robert Yang | March 3, 2020
If all goes as planned, the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) will start operating the Honolulu rail, Oahu’s first urban mass transit system, later this year or early 2021. To give the community an opportunity to experience rail ahead of time, HART held a family-friendly community day at Leeward Community College on Saturday, Feb. 8, at their Halaulani station where the public was able to walk through the station and sit inside each train car. As a supporter of green transportation and reducing traffic congestion on Oahu, I didn’t want to miss this sneak peek at rail!
There was a large turnout for the event. Crowds of people were lined up to participate in various activities, explore the new rail transit system, and snag a free HOLO card (normally $2 for a new card). The HOLO card is Oahu’s first smart transit card and can also be used on TheBus and TheHandi-Van. Just load it up and go!
After procuring my card, I pressed on to Halaulani station. Out of the 21 stations across the island, Halaulani is the only “at-grade” station, meaning you enter through an underground passageway before taking the stairs or elevator to the boarding platform. The platform is located at street-level compared to the other stations elevated above roadways.
At the boarding platform was a four-car train that visitors could freely explore. After entering, I immediately noticed how spacious it was. It may be because each train car was connected by an open gangway (instead of doors), making it easy to see all the available seats from one end to the other. My eyes wandered as I walked through each train car. I observed the different types of racks that allowed passengers to bring their luggage, bicycles, and even their surfboards with them on their journey. There were visual display boards that show the next stop. A button for emergencies was also built into the train. Push the red button and HART personnel will send first responders to the following stop for assistance.
When I reached the end of the train, I noticed that there was no control room. This is because the Honolulu Rail uses an automatic, driverless system. In its place, there was a single chair facing the outside world. This chair will likely become a favorite for keiki riders. They can hop into it and let their imagination run wild, pretending they are the driver to their very own train. It seemed like the train was designed to accommodate every type of passenger and to give them a safe riding experience.
Overall, HART has 80 individual train cars or 20 four-car trains in its fleet, and they’re all powered by electricity! HART and Hawaiian Electric are working together to ensure a smooth process as rail begins operations, adding new load to the electrical grid.
HART anticipates the Honolulu Rail to begin operations as early as late 2020. Whether you plan to ride it or not, it is expected to reduce traffic congestion and automobile pollution. While the route does not pass my house, I’ll probably go out of my way to ride it once just to get a true first-hand experience. Will you be riding the rail when it’s ready to roll?
Robert Yang is a digital communications and social media specialist at Hawaiian Electric Company.
