Honolulu rail project to get $64M in extra funding as inflation drives up costs

Honolulu’s rail project will be receiving nearly $64 million in additional funding from the federal government.

Sen. Brian Schatz, who chairs the Senate’s Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, announced the latest injection of funds Tuesday morning.

The $63.8 million funding will help the Honolulu Rail Transit Project offset the cost of inflation, according to Schatz’s office.

The money is also separate from the hundreds of millions of dollars in funding already granted by the Federal Transit Administration.

”We fought hard to make sure Hawai’i gets its fair share of federal dollars, and this new money will give HART more resources to cover inflationary costs and finally get this project up and running for the people of Honolulu,” Schatz said.

The long-delayed project, which is estimated to cost around $10 billion, is trying to open the initial phase of the rail line sometime next year but a firm date has yet to be announced.

Under a plan approved by the FTA, the rail line will end in Kakaako instead of Ala Moana Center. However, city officials have indicated that they hope to extend the rail line to potentially the University of Hawaii at Manoa at a future date.