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HONOLULU - The initial segment of the Honolulu Rail Transit system, named the Skyline, officially opened to the public on June 30, 2023. This operating segment includes 10.75 miles of guideway and nine stations spanning between Kualaka`i Station in East Kapolei and the Hālawa Station near Aloha Stadium. The Skyline is the first fully automated (driverless) metro rail transit system in the US. Lea+Elliott President/CEO Jack Norton and Lea+Elliott Principal and Project Manager Huy Huynh, P.E. were on-site to celebrate the Skyline’s Grand Opening Ceremony.
Prior to the system opening on June 9, 2023, the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) completed construction and delivered the initial segment of the system to the City and County of Honolulu Department of Transportation Services (DTS). “This is a landmark moment for the HART ohana,” said HART Executive Director and CEO Lori Kahikina, P.E. “All required operational and safety testing and related certifications have been completed and the system is safe and reliable. This is a huge milestone in delivering a functional rail system to the people of the City and County of Honolulu.”
“The extraordinary efforts and great commitment from the project participants have been instrumental in making the Project achieve this remarkable system opening milestone. The commencement of revenue service brings immense satisfaction as we witnessed the Project come to life; in addition, seeing passengers riding and benefiting from our efforts is truly rewarding,” said Huy. He has led the Lea+Elliott team, assisting HART at every stage of the Project, including the particularly challenging period of system activation during the past several years.
Lea+Elliott has actively contributed to this exciting Project since the late 1980s. Being a part of this project from the very beginning has provided us with invaluable experience and a deep understanding of the unique challenges it presents. Lea+Elliott participated in the planning, preliminary engineering, and procurement activities of the Project, overseeing final designs, fabrication, installation, testing of all Core Systems elements, including vehicles and the Project-wide interfaces with the guideway, stations and Maintenance and Storage Facility. Lea+Elliott will continue its role as the Core Systems Consultant assisting HART in overseeing the Core Systems for the second segment of the Project which includes 5.2 miles of guideway and four stations between Aloha Stadium to Middle Street-Kalihi Transit Center.
Jack, who serves as Lea+Elliott’s Principal-in-Charge and Project Advisor, said “Believe it or not, the first official proposal for the rail system was put forth in 1968. Lea+Elliott had a major role on the earlier version of the project back in the late 1980s and early 1990s and has continued to support the Project over the years culminating in our current role in the design and management of the Core Systems. So, I can probably safely say that no firm has been more committed to this Project than Lea+Elliott. It is so gratifying for our staff that have put in many long hours on this Project to see it carrying passengers. The trains and views from the guideway are marvelous. It’s been a great team effort working with HART staff and other consultants to bring this to fruition. Mahalo to all involved!”
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