Story of Skyline: The decades-long development of rail in Hawaii

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Talk of a rail project to ease Oahu’s traffic troubles first began in 1968, when Neal Blaisdell was the mayor.

His successor, Frank Fasi, championed the idea of a 29-mile rail line from Hawaii Kai to Pearl City a year later.

However, Fasi lost his re-election bid in 1980.

A few months later, new Mayor Eileen Anderson canceled all rail plans.

“The ridership numbers that had been anticipated when HART was proposed are simply not materializing,” said Anderson at the time.

When Fasi was re-elected in 1984, he brought rail back on track.

By 1990, federal money was promised for a 17-mile system.

The city wanted a 0.5% general excise tax surcharge to provide local funding.

Public support was mixed, but it seemed like a done deal at Honolulu Hale.

Then, any ho