Mayor Signs Bill 60 Greenlighting Planning for Skyline Rail Extensions to UH Manoa

Mayor Rick Blangiardi signed Bill 60 into law on Tuesday, formally authorizing the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation to begin planning and environmental review for extending the Skyline rail system from the current Ala Moana terminus to the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

The bill, which passed the City Council 7-2 last month, does not commit funding for construction but directs HART to produce a feasibility study and preliminary engineering report within 18 months. The study will evaluate three potential alignments: a surface route along University Avenue, a tunneled route beneath Kapiolani Boulevard, and a hybrid option.

“Getting rail to UH is the single most important thing we can do to reduce traffic in the Manoa-McCully corridor,” Blangiardi said at the signing ceremony. “Thirty thousand students and staff commute to that campus every day. This changes the equation.”

Critics, including the two dissenting council members, argued that HART has not yet demonstrated it can operate the existing 20-mile system reliably before planning extensions. The Skyline’s initial segment from East Kapolei to Aloha Stadium opened in 2023, with the downtown extension to Ala Moana still under construction and not expected to begin service until 2031.

HART Executive Director Lori Kahikina said her agency could conduct the study using existing federal planning grants without drawing on city capital funds. She estimated a UH extension would cost between $3.5 billion and $6 billion depending on the alignment chosen, with tunneling being the most expensive option.

UH President David Lassner welcomed the bill, noting that the university has reserved land near the athletic complex for a potential station. Student government leaders have long advocated for rail access, citing parking shortages and heavy traffic that contribute to late arrivals and missed classes.