HART
The City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Transportation Services (DTS) on Jan. 6 reported that Skyline’s 11-mile, nine-station system will be shut down for two consecutive weekends this month as part of the unification process between the current operating segment and the second, 5.2-mile, four-station segment that is expected to open later this year.
There will be no Skyline service on Jan. 11-12 and Jan. 18-19. TheBus service will be provided between stations during these weekends. Skyline will reopen with regular weekday service on Jan. 13 at 5:00 a.m. and on Jan. 20 at 8:00 a.m. (operations on Jan. 20, the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, will run on a holiday schedule).
“We know our riders depend on the availability and reliability of our Skyline service, however, this is an important milestone for Skyline,” DTS Deputy Director Jon Nouchi said. “This shutdown will allow us to connect our currently operating tracks and stations to our newest segment of five miles and four stations to Kalihi, including Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam and the airport.”
The second operating segment will add the following stations to the existing system (see map, top):
- Makalapa (Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam) Station.
- (Daniel K. Inouye International Airport) Station.
- Ahua (Lagoon Drive) Station.
- Kahauiki (Middle Street Transit Center) Station.
According to HART, rail guideway construction and trackwork is complete for the new operating segment. Construction of the four stations is expected to be “sustainably complete” in first-quarter 2025. Installation activities for the core systems—including power cables, communications systems, and signaling equipment—have begun. Third rail energization started in June 2024, with train testing now under way. The anticipated transfer of assets to DTS is planned for late 2025, according to HART.
Hitachi Rail in 2023 delivered Skyline—described as “the first new major metro system to open in the U.S. since 1993”—to HART and DTS under a 12-year DBOM (design-build-operate-maintain) contract. (HART and DTS maintain the civil works portion.)
Further Reading:
NC By Train
NC By Train achieved record ridership in 2024, the North Carolina Department of Transportation reported Jan. 8. The state-supported Amtrak intercity passenger rail service carried more than 720,000 riders last year, up 12% from 2023 (641,000 riders), 38% from 2022 (522,000 riders), and 55% from 2019 (465,000 riders; prior to the COVID-19 pandemic).
“The service’s popularity appears to be growing as more people learn how easy and stress-free it is to use, the affordability of tickets, and the positive environmental benefits and sustainability of traveling by train,” NDCOT said. “Increased availability of daily trip options has also benefited the service as NCDOT’s Rail Division continues to see a positive response to the addition of a fifth-round trip between Raleigh and Charlotte in July 2023.”
The department noted that special stops and events in 2024 such as the N.C State Fair, the Lexington Barbeque Festival, and adjusted schedules to early football games in Charlotte also contributed to NC By Train’s growth. Additionally, NC By Train operated the first Open Express to Pinehurst, N.C., during the U.S. Open in June and launched a partnership with the NC Craft Brewer’s Guild called the N.C. Ale Trail by Rail, which encourages people to use the state’s intercity passenger rail service to explore North Carolina craft breweries and support local businesses.
“We’re excited that NC By Train continues to grow and be an important transportation option for North Carolinians,” Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins said. “Based on the success of the last three years, we are continuing to explore opportunities to further increase frequencies and expand service to more communities across the state.”
