Honolulu: Transportation info and development

[floor23]

Photos of Honolulu Rail Interior and Exterior

Link:
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/3...first-rail-car

Photo Credit: Hawaii News Now

[electricron]

Originally Posted by a very long weekend

^ don't forget "buy american" rules, which apply on all projects getting federal funding, at a very significant increase in costs.

How much is the increase in costs?

When the order of vehicles is numbered so small, there's significant advantages of buying mass produced trains over custom built trains.
HART has bought twenty 4 car autonomous (driverless) EMU trains at a cost of $574 Million, or $28.7 Million per 4 car train.
TexRail has bought eight 4 car DMU trains requiring an engineer (driver) at a cost of $100 Million, or $12.5 Million per 4 car train.
Both trains above qualify for Built in America label and are eligible for USDOT funds.

Very similar trains being built for TexRail have been built in Switzerland for Elron, an Estonia state ran transit company. They ordered 18 EMU and 20 DMU Flirt 3 trains for 176 Million Euros ($204 Million), about $5.4 Million per train. But not all the trains were 4 car trains. Here's the breakdown:
6 DMU 2 car trains
8 DMU + 12 EMU 3 car trains
6 DMU + 6 EMU 4 car trains
That totals up to 120 cars, which would be the equivalent of 30 4 car trains. Redoing the math to reflect the different number of cars per train using 4 cars numbers for comparison purposes, $6.8 Million per train.
$6.8 Million for the basic same train in Europe compared to $12.5 Million in America. That's quite a price increase to make the trains in America, around 183%

But Estonia's Elron wasn't the only orders Stadler Rail Swiss plant had to fulfilled. So some of the lower costs of the trains made in Switzerland can be attributed to making far more of them (30+) as compared to the few being made in Utah (8) for TexRail. Stadler Rail over the years has received over 900 orders for Flirt trains (not cars - trains). And Flirt is just one type of train they build. They have built over 550 GTW trains, over 50 KISS (double level) trains, and around 500 Regio Shuttle trains. Stadler Rail has made more passenger trains than Amtrak has cars, of all types, in their inventory..

There are always savings in any manufacturing line when making larger numbers of items as compared to a custom built shop.

[jamesinclair]

Baggage area
Bike area
Folding seats
Articulation

OMG theyre perfect

[Maksima]

Could light rail help train reach Ala Moana and beyond?

• Video Link

By Gina Mangieri
Published: May 19, 2016, 8:32 pm
Updated: May 20, 2016, 8:21 pm

With the cost of Honolulu’s rail project doubling, transit officials are scrambling to figure out how much more of it they can afford to build, where it will have to stop short, and what to do from there.

Already-studied alternatives could be a solution.

Honolulu’s rail system is slated to hit at least $8 billion, according to the Federal Transit Administration. Experts say other options that move nearly as fast and for billions less could be tied seamlessly into what’s already built, and make it not only to Ala Moana but also to Manoa, Waikiki and West Kapolei.

Years ago, as the city closed in on launching the rail project, people on the job recall the atmosphere as officials pushed for heavy rail.

Copyright KHON2. All rights reserved.

Full article here->http://khon2.com/2016/05/19/could-li...na-and-beyond/

Honolulu may get 15-mile electric bus network connecting Ala Moana rail station to Waikiki

May 20, 2016, 1:24pm HST
Updated May 20, 2016, 3:00pm HST
By Duane Shimogawa
Reporter | Pacific Business News

he City and County of Honolulu is looking to develop a 15.1-mile electric bus network that would link the rail transit station at Ala Moana Center to Waikiki, the University of Hawaii at Manoa and surrounding areas, according to public documents.

Michael Motoki, transportation planner for Oahu Transit Services Inc., which operates the City and County of Honolulu’s TheBus, presented plans about the project at a recent Ala Moana-Kakaako Neighborhood Board meeting.

Copyright Pacific Business News. All rights reserved.

Full article here-> http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/n...s-network.html

HART to submit new rail proposal to FTA within 60-90 days

• Video Link

By Manolo Morales
Published: May 17, 2016, 8:00 pm
Updated: May 17, 2016, 8:04 pm

With the cost reaching $8 billion, officials say it’s more likely that rail will not reach Ala Moana Center.

KHON2 went back to speak with Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation board members who say they will have a better idea of what exactly we can afford within the next 60 to 90 days.

After a Federal Transit Administration report projected the cost of rail could reach $8 billion, HART board members say they have 21 days to come up with their own projection, which was at $6.8 billion last week.

“We should be looking for a realistic number and if that’s within their range, that’s what the number is,” said board member Mike Formby. “It will not be 6.8.”

Copyright KHON2. All rights reserved.

Full article here-> http://khon2.com/2016/05/17/hart-to-...in-60-90-days/

Skyrocketing rail costs could mean big changes to Honolulu route

Published: Wednesday, May 25th 2016, 5:44 pm HST
Updated: Wednesday, May 25th 2016, 6:51 pm HST
By Mileka Lincoln, Reporter

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The board in charge of overseeing rail say rising costs might not just shorten the rail route, it might significantly change it.

Officials say running the route on Dillingham Boulevard, as planned, could be too expensive. So they're eyeing other options, including running rail along Nimitz Highway.

"I was surprised at the complexity and really the mess underneath Dillingham and the fact that we'd have to move almost every one of the different types of utilities," said Colleen Hanabusa, Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation board chairwoman.

The cost to build the rapid transit project has already ballooned well over initial projections.

The most recent estimate from federal officials is around $8.1 billion, and HART admits even that's expected to be too low.

Copyright Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.

Full article here-> http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/3...gham-to-nimitz

And civil beat keeps going...

What Would Honolulu Save By Pulling The Plug On Rail?

We might spend about $1.74 billion less in local funds by dismantling the project instead of completing it. But that could prove costly in other ways.

May 24, 2016 · By Anita Hofschneider

A new federal estimate that Honolulu rail construction could cost up to $8.1 billion — nearly $3 billion over the original budget — is forcing city officials to re-evaluate the size and scope of the largest public works project in the state’s history.

The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation board has scheduled a special meeting June 8 in response to the news and will likely discuss alternatives to building the planned steel-on-steel rail line all the way from West Oahu to Ala Moana.

“We know we have got to finish part of this rail system,” said Colleen Hanabusa, chairwoman of the HART board, at a press conference last week. “The question is, how much can the people and the City and County of Honolulu afford?”

But there is another option: Pulling the plug on the entire project.

Copyright Civil Beat. All rights reserved.

Full article here-> http://www.civilbeat.com/2016/05/wha...-plug-on-rail/

[Maksima]

cre8ive na8ive has been actively documenting the rail construction on SCC, so here are some of his images...

Originally Posted by creativenative

First a Waipahu update. Since rail guideway is complete in that town, this is a good opportunity to see the progress of street level upgrades such as new curbings, pavements, landscaping and traffic lights. To me what a change for the better, the streets will be nicer looking with these improvements and no unsightly overhead electrical lines crisscrossing the made road. In this section of the 05-13-16 updates we will head west into Waipahu while in the next section we will head east into Pearl City.


Starting from the middle near the maintenance center heading west into Waipahu. Note more finishing touches improving the built environment. by cre8ive na8ive, on Flickr


Heading west now across Waipahu High School by cre8ive na8ive, on Flickr


Still heading west toward central Waipahu still with new pavement and curbing. by cre8ive na8ive, on Flickr


Still heading west rail takes turn into central Waipahu station. by cre8ive na8ive, on Flickr


Part of the east/central Waipahu station. by cre8ive na8ive, on Flickr


Rail between main road and over river in central Waipahu. Still looking west. Note nice earth scaping. by cre8ive na8ive, on Flickr


Heading west into west Waipahu. Note new curbings. 05-13-16 by cre8ive na8ive, on Flickr


Looking west at early construction of west Waipahu station or the West Loch station. 05-13-16 by cre8ive na8ive, on Flickr


New pavement and medians in far west Waipahu and going over Fort Weaver Road over past. Still looking west 05-13-16 by cre8ive na8ive, on Flickr

[OhioGuy]

Ouch at the idea of cutting the line short of Ala Moana.

[Maksima]

Honolulu’s rail among only a handful of projects under heavy federal scrutiny

By Kristine Uyeno
Published: June 21, 2016, 5:55 pm
Updated: June 21, 2016, 7:09 pm

As Honolulu races toward a deadline for a new financial plan for rail, KHON2 has learned the project is undergoing a level of scrutiny not many have faced.

For the first time since Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said rail’s initial segment should stop at Middle Street, the Federal Transit Administration is responding.

Honolulu has less than two months to give federal officials the new plan, which is something the feds don’t often require.

The FTA says it’s placed only about 10 major capital projects under Full Funding Grant Agreements (FFGAs) under a recovery plan in the past 25 years.

Honolulu’s rail project is one of them.

Copyright KHON2. All rights reserved.

Full article here-> http://khon2.com/2016/06/21/honolulu...eral-scrutiny/

New 'worst-case scenario' report reveals full 20-mile rail route could cost $10.79B

Published: Thursday, June 23rd 2016, 5:52 pm HST
Updated: Thursday, June 23rd 2016, 7:21 pm HST
By Mileka Lincoln, Reporter

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) -

A new "worst-case scenario" report estimates rail costs could near $11 billion dollars, but the HART Board Chair says the latest figure only matters if the community and elected officials want to pursue more funding for the project to ensure it can run from Kapolei to Ala Moana.

Earlier this month, city council members voted to cap spending for rail at $6.8 billion. A few weeks later, the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation released its latest estimate for the total cost at $7.9 billion. However, the Federal Transit Administration believes the price tag will be closer to $8.1 billion.

Now a new report issued by Jacobs Engineering Group, the Project Management Oversight Contractor (PMOC) used a statistical model to determine that if rail runs all 20-miles, as it was initially intended, it could cost as much as $10.8 billion.

Copyright Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.

Full article here-> http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/3...uld-cost-1079b

Investigation underway after rail car vandalized at Waipahu operations center

By Alexander Zannes, Alex Cerball and Web Staff
Published: June 24, 2016, 4:09 pm
Updated: June 24, 2016, 10:29 pm

Honolulu police are investigating after someone broke into the Rail Operations Center in Waipahu and vandalized a rail car.

It happened sometime late Thursday night or early Friday morning.

We’ve seen the photos, but have decided not to show them in order not to glorify the artist.

The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation confirms one car was marked with graffiti, and is already being cleaned.

HART spokesman Bill Brennan released the following statement:

"Unfortunately, HART’s Rail Operations Center was vandalized overnight and one of Honolulu’s rail cars was painted with graffiti. HART is investigating the incident with the Honolulu Police Department and is increasing security at the site to prevent any future incidents. Graffiti removal has already begun and should concluded in the next several days."

Copyright KHON2. All rights reserved.

Full article here-> http://khon2.com/2016/06/24/investig...ations-center/

[N830MH]

http://www.staradvertiser.com/2017/0...ey-house-vote/

Not good at all.