Light Rail coming to Honolulu

[gmat]

Rail work kicks off in Waipahu

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110425_Rail_work_kicks_off_in_Waipahu.html

Best wishes,
Grant

[gmat]

Editorial about he need for transparency in the process:

Keep public in loop on rail costs
http://www.staradvertiser.com/editorials/20110509__Keep_public_in_loop_on_rail_costs.html


Best wishes,
Grant

[disturbman]

Thanks for the updates, it's interesting to see what's going on there. I hope the plan won't be shelved.

[gmat]

Thank you, disturbman,
Glad to see people find it useful.

Best wishes,
Grant

[railroadtrac2]

As an aside, the contractor has yet to fix the links so our assessment may yet be proved correct!

[gmat]

Some updates:

Council puts rein on rail spending
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110512_Council_puts_rein_on_rail_spending.html


Group seeks injunction against rail project
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/121729089.html

Best wishes,
Grant


And this editorial. Some interesting arguments against:

Rail lawsuit filed, financial plan updated
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/14638278/rail-lawsuit-filed-financial-plan-updatedq

Grant

[gmat]

More news from the StarAdvertiser:

Council member wants 'Plan B' in case rail funding is short
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110513_council_member_wants_plan_b_in_case_rail_funding_is_short.html

Rail transit rolls forward with stops for questions
http://www.staradvertiser.com/columnists/20110513_Rail_transit_rolls_forward_with_stops_for_questions.html

Several articles from HonoluluRailTransit:

Construction work updates:
http://www.honolulutransit.org/traffic_updates/

From the NewsRoom, including the guest editorial below:
http://www.honolulutransit.org/news_room/

Guest Editorial:
SpeakOut
Rail is a Game Changer for the Construction Industry
By Kirk Caldwell, Managing Director, City and County of Honolulu
http://www.buildingindustryhawaii.com/0909/BI0909_70.pdf

For perspectives from the other side, HonoluluTransit.com, a Stop the Rail Group:
http://www.honolulutraffic.com/


Best wishes,
Grant

[gmat]

The close proximity of the rail line to the Federal Court Building makes the latter vulnerable to terrorist action, so the local federal judges had written a letter saying it posed a security risk. Also Ansaldo comes under further scrutiny:

Judges withdraw from hearing rail suit
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110514_Judges_withdraw_from_hearing_rail_suit.html


Best wishes,
Grant

[Mudkip Orange]

The close proximity of the rail line to the Federal Court Building makes the latter vulnerable to terrorist action

That is poop. The OKC bombing was the result of a single Ryder truck; the District Court in Honolulu has public streets on three sides, and the parking lots around the building have no barriers so anything capable of making it over a 6" curb and some grass can get in.

I fail to see how an elevated rail line out in the middle of Ala Moana adds any kind of risk factor.

[gmat]

The city's transit line has potential for triggering a rise in affordable units
http://www.staradvertiser.com/business/20110515_Rail_has_role_in_housing.html


Best wishes,
Grant

[bikkuri bahn]

The close proximity of the rail line to the Federal Court Building makes the latter vulnerable to terrorist action

That is poop. The OKC bombing was the result of a single Ryder truck; the District Court in Honolulu has public streets on three sides, and the parking lots around the building have no barriers so anything capable of making it over a 6" curb and some grass can get in.

I fail to see how an elevated rail line out in the middle of Ala Moana adds any kind of risk factor.

Precisely.  The anti-rail people will use anything and anyone to block the building of new lines, including nonsensical concerns such as this.  You can see the same BS static coming from naysayers and nimbys in the CA HSR project, and it will continue.  I'm sure people will oppose a rail line because it causes "stress" to their pet chihuahua...

[Mudkip Orange]

I do like how the pro-rail guys have an "un-sign the anti-rail petition" petition.

http://www.gorailgo.org/files/GoRailGo-RemoveNamefromAntiRailPetition.pdf


Definitely taking it up a notch. I was in Seattle for the entire planning phase of SoundTransit and I was in Houston long enough to see the "Metro Solutions" LRT expansion get downgraded to BRT and then re-upped again, and I never saw an "I was blind but now I see" counter-petition.

It's funny to visit the Honolulu rail opposition's website and read the same arguments: "19th century technology," "25mph average speed vs. 60 for highways," the same stuff the Cox/O'Toole/Poole crowd was saying 15 years ago.

At this point I think the anti-rail consultants just have a bunch of Word 97 documents that they pull up, change a few words, and crap back out again.

[gmat]

Funny comments. Thanks.
Best wishes.
Grant

[gmat]

Concern grows over rail's cost
Most residents surveyed want to see the project completed, but they are put off by the system's rising price tag
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110516__Concern_grows_over_rails_cost.html

Best wishes,
Grant

[bikkuri bahn]

Most residents surveyed want to see the project completed, but they are put off by the system's rising price tag

Apparently, the cost of public works projects in the U.S., especially things like rail lines, is the highest in the world (yes, more expensive than Japan).  Something about the bidding process and the way contractors work.

[Mudkip Orange]

I have long thought that if I were a mayor or transportation director looking at building an elevated rail line, I'd contract the bridge/viaduct portion out as a road or "busway" and then only layer submit a separate contract for adding rails on top of it.

I honestly think it would be cheaper, when you look at the inflationary nature of rail costs.

Structurally there should be no problem, being as how we've successfully retrofitted light rail onto all manner of existing bridges (the Main Street Bridge and bayou bridges in Houston, the Steel Bridge in Portland, etc)

[gmat]

Mayor would veto proposal by City Council to have final say over any spending decisions made by the transit board. I guess over worries about cost spiraling out of control.

Battle brews over control of rail transit authority's budget
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110518_battle_brews_over_control_of_rail_transit_authoritys_budget.html

Editorial:
Don't rob TheBus to pay for rail
http://www.staradvertiser.com/editorials/20110518__Don_t_rob_TheBus_to_pay_for_rail.html

Best wishes,
Grant

[gmat]

City's rail funding risk 'under control,' FTA says

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110520_citys_rail_funding_risk_under_control_fta_says.html

Best wshes,
Grant

[gmat]

From the StarAdvertiser:
City's poll finds majority favors rail
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110602__Citys_poll_finds_majority_favors_rail.html

Same news from Yes2rail:
http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2011_06_01_archive.html

From the opposition, no response yet to the City's poll:
http://www.honolulutraffic.com/

Best wishes,
Grant

[gmat]

Not much rail news, but some news of political in-fighting between the Mayor and the City Council about who gets final say for the rail budget:

Transit board budget drives strain
The mayor has said he will sue over the spending plan OK'd by the City Council
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110621_Transit_board_budget_drives_strain.html


Carlisle vetoes rail transit budgets, recycling subsidy
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/124327424.html

Best wishes,
Grant

[gmat]

More on the spending fight:
Lawsuits loom as vetoes set showdown on rail spending
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110622_Lawsuits_loom_as_vetoes_set_showdown_on_rail_spending.html

Best wishes,
Grant

[gmat]

The news for the net year or so will probably be dominated by political infighting.

Small article.

A city councilman says U.S. officials remain committed to rail funding
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/124404129.html

Followed by a longer editorial.

Don't dilute HART's authority
http://www.staradvertiser.com/editorials/20110623__Dont_dilute_HARTs_authority.html

Besides the short spur from from Ewa to Waianae used by the Hawaii Railway Society, the only other rail transportation used today on Oahu is the old monorail at Pearl Ridge Shopping Center. It connects the upper mall with the lower mall. When the Center was first built, it was planned to have it run further about a mile east to the much smaller Waimalu Shopping Mall. There was never enough potential traffic to justify the cost, though. Too bad. I am old enough to remember when the OR&LR still had the operation at the harbor and ran pineapples to the Libby McNeil and Libby Cannery. It was just crossing the old Nimitz Highway and in fact hardly ran for more than a mile, but that was quite a thrill for a young kid. When I worked at the cannery in the summer, I can still remember the train pulling up. Wish that I had taken some photos, though.

Best wishes,
Grant

[gmat]

Some recent news:

City rejects protests over rail contract, sticks with Ansaldo
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/124525059.html

Honolulu rail project to get $55M in federal funds this year
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/124524823.html

Council in gear to reject rail-bill vetoes
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110624_Council_in_gear_to_reject_railbill_vetoes.html

U.S. infrastructure's decay is alarming
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/factsofthematter/20110617_US_infrastructures_decay_is_alarming.html

Best wishes,
Grant

[gmat]

Another OpEd.
The whole point of HART is to have it be independent of politics
http://www.staradvertiser.com/editorials/20110626_The_whole_point_of_HART_is_to_have_it_be_independent_of_politics.html

Best wishes,
Grant

[gmat]

More on the political tug of war.
Mayor to let HART take lead
Carlisle will defer to the new rail agency on possible lawsuits against the Council
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110628_Mayor_to_let_HART_take_lead.html

Kalihi is a middle to lower middle income area East and Northeast of the airport.
Kalihi has say on rail development
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110628_Kalihi_has_say_on_rail_development.html


Googled Honolulu Rail News and found the following:

From Channel 2 News
http://www.khon2.com/news/local/story/55M-for-Honolulu-rail-in-current-fiscal-year/bBx2m9LeIEGP8hxrdUz1jA.cspx?rss=1803
$55M for Honolulu rail in current fiscal year

From MauiNews:
Honolulu council overrides vetoes on rail line
http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/550895/Honolulu-council-overrides-vetoes-on-rail-line.html?nav=8

From HawaiiNewsNow:
City looking to alter stream channels for Honolulu rail line
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/14986235/city-looking-to

Small bit from Progressive Railroading:
FTA awards $55 million in New Starts funds for Honolulu light-rail project
http://www.progressiverailroading.com/federal_legislation_regulation/news/FTA-awards-55-million-in-New-Starts-funds-for-Honolulu-lightrail-project--27079

Say Yes to the Honolulu Rail System site. Some interesting articles from the pro-rail site.
http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/

Hawaii Rail Facebook. Much has been posted previously from the StarAdvertiser.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Honolulu-Rail-Transit/127002122537


Apparently defunct site launched by losing bidder Sumitomo Corporation of America. The latest news is dated from February.
The interior of the proposed train had a stand up space for surfboards.
http://honolulurailforgrowth.com/news.php

Blog from local resident Ian Lind. From Feb. 24, 2010:
Tracking Honolulu rail news
http://ilind.net/2010/02/24/tracking-honolulu-rail-news/

Finally, from the other side.
Anti-rail News:
http://www.honolulutraffic.com/

Best wishes,
Grant

[gmat]

Response to the StarAdvertiser OpEd on the Mayor/City Council HART spat.
The comment section is interesting.

Charter is clear on Council's authority over HART
http://www.staradvertiser.com/editorials/20110629__Charter_is_clear_on_Councils_authority_over_HART.html


City approves request to alter 4 Oahu streams for rail project
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/15001517/city-approves-request-to-alter-4-oahu-streams-for-rail-project

Best wishes,
Grant

[Webskipper]

For the $5.5 billion they're spending, we could have built a much better scale example. LOL.

What if the project were classified as elevated roadbed then wouldn't the Federal budget fund it long enough to build it? Then the Tram tracks could be embedded in that 3 lane "Scenic Road".

[Mudkip Orange]

You'd have to do a really really good job of pretending it wasn't transit, though. Contractor price gouging is a feature of all transit projects, even ones that are structurally identical to highways - look at the Los Angeles Orange Line if you want an example.

Now, if they said TOLL ROAD and PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP, and then after construction the toll road holding company revealed itself to be a shell company for what was actually a joint venture of Siemens and Bombardier all along... and then they laid tracks on it... then maybe you could get a fair price.

[gmat]

Bombardier Transportation files a request for administrative hearing.

Essentially the same article from The StarAdvertiser and AP:

StarAdvertiser writer.
Losing bidder seeks hearing on rail contract
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110630__Losing_bidder_seeks_hearing_on_rail_contract.html

AP writer.
Losing bidders appeal Honolulu rail contract award
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/124773294.html

Interesting comment from ppc in response to the latter article:

Stop with these B S artist renditions of the future Oahu rail platform shown in the news.   
City has already identified that the trains will be a 2 car configuration built by Ansaldo with each car weighing in at 72,000 pounds.  Each Oahu train station will have two tracks side by side to allow trains to go in both directions, therefore along any train track by itself, or at the station, for the span of 2 train cars, the track must support close to 1/3 of a million pounds!  For comparison one empty Boeing 737 jet like the old Aloha Airlines jet weighs less than one Ansaldo train car!  Those streamlined artist renditions of the Oahu train to nowhere won't even come close to supporting the massive weight of those Ansaldo trains and passengers!  That is why LA county cancelled their Ansaldo train contracts because of weight issues.

Best wishes,
Grant

[bikkuri bahn]

The picture in the article is clearly an artist's conception of what a station "might" look like.  Now, Ansaldo has had many issues, but any hullabaloo about overweight cars and lightweight structures (and comparisons to 737s- apparently b/c that's what 'mericans can relate to) is getting close to FUD.

[KenS]

And 72,000 pounds isn't exactly heavy.  That's 36 tons. While modern Japanese commuter cars come in in the mid twenties, the 103 weighed about 36 tonnes (metric), a U.S. commuter rail car (MBTA Kawasaki double-decker) can weigh 65 tons, and a U.S. freight car can be well over 100.

With modern construction materials (reinforced pre-stressed concrete), a fairly lightweight structure should be able to handle 150 tons, even with a very large safety materials. We're not talking about the kind of structure needed for a freight.

[gmat]

Short article. Not much new here.

Sumitomo seeks state hearing on rail bid
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110701__Sumitomo_seeks_state_hearing_on_rail_bid.html

Best wishes,
Grant

[Mudkip Orange]

The BS renderings aren't the ones being put out by the pro-rail guys, it's the ones being put out by the anti-rail guys.

The toll road pimps have a couple of high-res renderings on their site of a massively chunky elevated station platform complete with graffiti on the columns.

[gmat]

New rail board will not sue City Council over budget
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/124882249.html


Rail board holds first meeting
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/15014680/rail-board-holds-first-meeting

Best  wishes,
Grant

[gmat]

Sorry. Not much new here:
Rail board will not sue for control of budget
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110702__Rail_board_will_not_sue_for_control_of_budget.html

Best wishes,
Grant

[bikkuri bahn]

Star Advertiser OpEd on the need for a rail expert on the Board of Directors of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation.
Any volunteers?
http://www.staradvertiser.com/editorials/20110424__Oahus_rail_panel_needs_technical_expert_aboard.html

Best wishes,
Grant

I would think they are looking at a very small (non-existent?) pool of potential candidates if they are recruiting within Hawaii for rail experts, unless they can find a retired person from the mainland or abroad.  It's tough enough to find real experts on passenger rail in continental US, for that matter, as there is no real professional school for railway engineering in the U.S. My impression of rail passenger/transit systems in the U.S. is that they are run by politicians/appointees, rather than railway professionals well-versed in modern (i.e. European/Japanese style) operations.

[gmat]

Not much news. I added a link to the updated site.

HART website slowly picks up speed as rail plan proceeds
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110708_HART_website_slowly_picks_up_speed_as_rail_plan_proceeds.html

Here is a link to the site.

http://www.honolulutransit.org/

Best wishes,
Grant

[gmat]

Open to out-of-staters?

Rail authority lacks members with know-how in mass transit
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110715__Rail_authority_lacks_members_with_knowhow_in_mass_transit.html

Best wishes,
Grant

[gmat]

Not much today.

Protest by losing city rail car contract bidder tossed out
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/125860848.html

OpEd from a realtor.
Building better neighborhoods around transit stations
http://www.staradvertiser.com/editorials/20110719_Building_better_neighborhoods_around_transit_stations.html

Best wishes,
Grant

Add ons. Yes2rail site.
http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/

Link to antirail editorial mentioned above.
http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/07/just-what-honol.html

[gmat]

May explain a lot.

Ansaldo Honolulu's parent firm rethinking rail car business
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/126439633.html

Best wishes,
Grant

[disturbman]

AnsaldoBreda is really a strange affair. Some of their contracts have been plagued by delays and quality issues (Danish IC4 and the HST V250 for service between the Netherland and Belgium as well as some of their trams) but others, I never heard a complaint about (like their driver-less subway).

But maybe this is good knews, I think the company needs to be reinvented... I just don't know who might want to buy them and inherit the problematic contracts.

[gmat]

Trouble nags city rail bid winner
Financial and managerial problems beset Ansaldo Honolulu's parent firm
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110730_Trouble_nags_city_rail_bid_winner.html

Best wishes,
Grant

[Nozomi4ever]

God!! Why take Ansaldo Breda trains. Ansaldo trains are pretty much unreliable and plagued with problems.
See what happen to the IC4 , when they finally managed to deliver the DSB IC4 , they sent one of the IC4 to Libya for free which was designated for DSB. I am sure DSB was very pissed about it. And the Fyra. The design looks like %$& crap. Looks uglier than Hayabusa.. 
So they should have awarded the contract to Bombardier instead.

[disturbman]

Like I said before, some of their trains (mainly their automatic subway) were not reported as being a failure... at least not to my knowledge. They have produced much more than the Fyra and the IC4.

[gmat]

Latest news since Ansaldo's announcement:

Ansaldo reaffirms commitment to Honolulu rail project
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/126539778.html

Pilikia is a Hawaiian word for trouble.
Rail firm's pilikia could cost city, Council chairman says
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110801_Rail_firms_pilikia_could_cost_city_Council_chairman_says.html

Best wishes,
Grant

[gmat]

With Honolulu becoming a one newspaper town, it wasn't long before the StarAdvertiser made the switch to pay for news. So I won't be linking articles to their page anymore.

From Honolulu Civil Beat.
http://www.civilbeat.com/posts/2011/08/15/12522-bombardier-appeals-honolulu-rail-contract/

Best wishes
Grant

[gmat]

Recent news from Yes2rail.

http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/

From KHON2, a local TV Station:
http://www.khon2.com/news/local/story/Nations-money-problems-could-affect-Honolulus/zDpAEVcImk61peOcJs_jLQ.cspx

From the other side:

http://www.honolulutraffic.com/

Includes link to the full OpEd article from the Star Advertiser.
http://www.honolulutraffic.com/op-ed_082111.pdf

Best wishes,
Grant

[gmat]

Sumitomo drops appeal.

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/128290263.html

Best wishes,
Grant

[gmat]

From the StarAdvertiser;

Transit authority plans to question Ansaldo about finances
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/Transit_autority_plans_to_question_Ansaldo_about_finances.html

From Honolulu Civil Beat;

Honolulu Rail Asks Losing Bidder to Extend Offer — Just In Case
http://www.civilbeat.com/articles/2011/08/25/12650-honolulu-rail-asks-losing-bidder-to-extend-offer-just-in-case/

From Pacific Business News;

Closer look shows why Sumitomo may have decided against Honolulu rail appeal
http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/blog/morning_call/2011/08/closer-look-shows-why-sumitomo-may.html

Perhaps Sumutomo will win out in the end.

Best wishes,
Grant

[bikkuri bahn]

Closer look shows why Sumitomo may have decided against Honolulu rail appeal
http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/blog/morning_call/2011/08/closer-look-shows-why-sumitomo-may.html

Perhaps Sumitomo will win out in the end.

That's what I thought.  They can just sit on the sidelines and wait out the results, rather than spend money on appeals and seem like a sore loser.  Should Ansaldo be rejected, Sumitomo can swoop in and get the contract, or at least make another bid if the bidding process is re-instituted.