Honolulu Rail - Driver's Eye View

A video I made soon after the new Honolulu Rail opened, going from Aloha Stadium to Kapolei. The first 3 minutes are hand-held, walking around the station, then the actual "drivers-eye" view takes over. The video goes from Aloha Stadium to Kapolei and back, about a 45-minute round trip. Stops have been edited out to shorten time waiting at stations.
Update: I moved this video from my personal channel (here)to a new channel on which I put all of my "driver's eye" videos. If you like these videos, please subscribe to that channel, Mahalo!
/ @jdsviewsandwindows-z6e
JD

[@ncliffordjr]

thank you so much for making this video! it's surprisingly hard to find videos about Skyline in operation, this is a great view!

[@ryy4n_]

its not too known elsewhere except for here in hawai’i lol

[@ChillinDylan]

Sorry it took me so long to post it! I filmed it one Saturday in Sep 2023, then left Hawaii in October, vacationed in Asia for 6 months, just moved to Colorado, rented a house, looked for a job....after all that time I'm finally settled in and found the folder with the recording!

[@robotx9285]

Top be fair, there' likely very few rail fans in that part of the country due to the lack of trains...So it'll likely take years for that community to build up.

[@Allencartercomix]

Having been born and raised in Honolulu from 1980 to 2005, the island of Oahu has been trying to build a metro rail system since the 1960s. Though I moved to LA before they finally broke ground on this line in 2011, I'm glad that the first segment opened last year. While I wish that that the original route from West Kapolei to UH Manoa was used, the shortened line from East Kapolei to Kakaako (just past Downtown Honolulu) will still be helpful to get westside commuters past the bulk of the freeway traffic into town. The current timeline is that the next segment to Pearl Harbor, Daniel K Inouye International Airport, Lagoon Drive, and the Middle Street Transit center is set to open in late 2025, which is the same time that the third segment into town is set to begin guideway, column, and station construction. Hopefully when these other two segments are open, negotiations can start regarding getting the train to the islands' largest mall and bus hub: Ala Moana Center, and later the University of Hawaii.

[@sjokomelk]

On the AnsaldoBreda metro in Copenhagen in Denmark they have put stickers on the "desk" in the end of the cabin. They resemble drivers controls with buttons and a steering wheel so kids can pretend they are the driver while on the metro. 🤩

[@ChillinDylan]

Believe me, America isn't that creative.

[@1crazyinouterspace1]

Found this video on my home page, and what a surprise!! I had no idea that Hawaii had a railroad; I thought that the island had too much elevation for a train. Overall a slow but good ride, and I wonder how it will expand in the future.

[@Hankinator6286]

Stage 2 looks like a go for next year.

[@EliteInExile]

They're gonna push the line into the city itself which is great.

[@davidng2336]

It may be not much now but it will eventually find its usefulness, especially after the next extension goes to the airport.

[@sonorioftrill]

While there are definitely arguments to be made about costs, overuse of viaduct over ground running, and starting out in a area wholely reliant on greenfield development, this ride really puts into perspective just how long Phase one really is.

[@dmanurakumaradisanayaka4843]

Thanks so much my lovely mother

[@colinkmike]

the announcement voice is depressing :D great vid! thanks for sharing!

[@kj3rd2657]

Thank You! I still have not gone for a ride yet! 😢

[@javierguidounicaud6621]

Thank you for this video and for the infos given .Very interesting cab ride, but short.

[@3506Dodge]

So much parking. Why not built actual destinations at stations....apartments, shopping, medical offices... Each station should be surrounded by large development.

[@bmolitor615]

that comes next, it's not instantaneous, take place over decades to match population growth/movements The parking is easily repurposed - right now the stations are just park-n-rides.

[@77Badger]

@@bmolitor615 Exactly. Check out NoMa in Washington DC. The Infill Metro Red Line Station opened in 2004 and by 2016-2020 development had really cranked up,

[@meijiishin5650]

They are. This rail is only a year old so they're still working on it.

[@300biggirl]

They started building the rail in 2014. The starting point in Kapolei is still farmland today. 10 years and still no development

[@hawaiifiles]

Be careful what you wish for. TOD = more vertical construction, which will increase taxes even more along the rail line and ice people out of homes they have at the present low rise areas along this route. And you know with high rises, most are unaffordable to regular mortals.

[@martyn6792]

Quite a unique system

[@dontown-lb5ke]

Vancouver, Canada had our Sky-Train back in 1986, so Honolulu is 40 years behind the times.

[@TIMBOWERMAN]

@@martyn6792 So did London - Docklands Light Rail in the same year (1986).

[@nathanielnelson5123]

Those fare gates are what we need here in NYC

[@michaelbruchas6663]

I never knew that there was passenger rail in Hawaii!

[@nathanielnelson5123]

Me neither

[@thebabbler8867]

It was literally just built a few years ago.

[@dlazyace9116]

well the railway was supposed to completed years ago(9) but it kept getting delayed. i'd say its still incomplete and useless if its not built all the way to waikiki or at least around the whole island.

[@laronnsutton253]

I remember seeing the beginning infrastructure on a visit in 2018. Cant wait to ride it.

[@PaulJefferies-k9p]

Seems a long way between stations in places, perhaps would be good in future to insert more stops!

[@bmolitor615]

for skylines, the focus is on a regular service unimpeded by surface traffic and moderately speedy from end to end [aka actually not too many stops - like an express, yah] - then the intermediate locations feed into some of the stations by bus.

[@albertcarello619]

@PaulJefferi...: I think they will eventually add more stops and stations. I think this is a better way to get around here than buses which get tied up in traffic and are much slower.

[@meijiishin5650]

The bus system is really comprehensive here, so short stops doesn't make much sense. This is supposed to be more of an "express" option.

[@hawaiifiles]

Besides the huge cost to taxpayers, lack of ridership, etc.... the huge problem is that the stations are quite far apart from each other with some totally missing major destinations such as Pearl Ridge which requires people to double back to the center to do any shopping. Hopefully the busses are still running underneath this thing making stops at the usual places along Kam highway at the stops closer to destinations like the various businesses.

[@lebaillidessavoies3889]

we cannot say that it's very busy....

[@rodhard688]

Fantastic! How much does the full ride cost? Beautiful place for a rapid transit system.

[@meijiishin5650]

3.50/ride. Capped at $7.50/day. All transfers done within a 2 hour period are free.

[@yvessimon4847]

Very similar with Dubaï metro but the landscape is much more pleasant.

[@ChillinDylan]

@@yvessimon4847 I’ve been on the Dubai metro as well.

[@nathanielnelson5123]

​@@ChillinDylanWhat time does the last train run?

[@Spookieham]

One thing I notice is there is absolutely zero architectural flair in that station. It is very bare bones and cheap looking. Here in Western Australia we have similar elevated stations with similar climate but much more use is made of colour and pattern to break up monotonous slabs of dreary paint.

[@ChillinDylan]

@@Spookieham I know, right? Very practical, nothing fancy. Maybe someday once it’s all operational they will dress it up a bit.

[@bmolitor615]

But if they dolled it up at the get-go, there'd have been just so much more screaming about $$$, you know it :) Dolling it up is a fun thing to do 10 or 20 years down the line once the municipalities that have grown up[ because the skyline exists!] have matured a bit. They do the whole pass a motion, form a sub-committee, run community-input open-houses, shortlist artists, and eventually each station is freshened up and is suddenly unique and gorgeous over the former bare bones...

[@meijiishin5650]

The inside of the stations themselves have some neat art and designs. It's just the platforms that are kinda barebones.

[@deltic1964]

Great Video be good to see the full line when Completed

[@nathanielnelson5123]

And thoss platform barriers are needed in NYC too

[@Bigbro28]

An excellent video. Such a ginormous concourse (and an empty train) at the beginning. How many passengers pass through each day? 🇦🇺

[@raymondnaidu8501]

I certainly would like to visit just for a train ride to look at the view

[@ChillinDylan]

lol believe me, it isn't worth that kind of effort. What you see in the video is pretty much it. Better you drive the H3 in a convertible.

[@mikehunt8997]

Nice trains, but, how long until they start spray painting the stations and cars?

[@ScottDLR]

Any plans for this to go from the airport to Waikiki? Or, maybe between Pearl Harbor and Waikiki?

[@ChillinDylan]

No. No one who lives in Hawaii actually goes to Waikiki, it's for tourists only. The beach isn't very good, there are no waves, and it's covered with tourists. For now, it is planned to stop at Middle Street, and possibly, in the future go to Ala Moana Mall.

[@ScottDLR]

@@ChillinDylan That would be the point - to move masses of people without them being on the road.

[@thelastdwemer]

There were plans for that in the beginning, but they pretty much gave up on it. The Skyline was intended to get tourists and university students off the road by connecting the airport with a lot of other locales. The original hub was going to be Ala Moana Center with a leg heading up to the University of Hawaii, but the city wasted tons of money through graft and various forms of political gamesmanship so they blew through the billions of dollars they had in the budget and cut out all of the useful stops. Probably the biggest issue with the rail though, even if it were finished, is that the entire design is intentionally user-unfriendly to deter homeless. The worst example is that they refused to build any public restrooms along the route because they didn't want to pay to keep them clean and free of vagrants.

[@ScottDLR]

@@thelastdwemer Thanks for your informative post. There didn't seem to be much information outside of the state and your post gives us a better understanding of whats going on.

[@Allencartercomix]

There are two more planned and financed segments: The 2nd extension will go to the Middle Street transit center and will include an Airport station. The third segment will stop just east of Downtown Honolulu.

[@mikehunt8997]

Need a stop at Waikiki Beach.

[@TIMBOWERMAN]

Is this driverless like the Dockland Light Rail (DLR) in London. Like the DLR there are a large number of flyovers (overpasses) here and some rail at grade.

[@ChillinDylan]

@@TIMBOWERMAN Yes, driverless. Only workers I saw were at the stations and occasionally one on board, looking around.

[@roboftherock]

Aha, you are left-handed! Snap!

[@JeffreyHietala]

Maybe next there will be a train that connects most of the Hawaiian Islands via bridges and/or tunnels.

[@carmelotaichi]

Any idea when the airport line will open?

[@meijiishin5650]

They are projecting end of 2025. Civil Beat has a conference with them on August 30th, so new details may come up.

[@leviandhiro3596]

Took ten years but it got done sadly I never got to ride on the rail

[@matthewgarcia1499]

Nice video but did you capture a ghost truck in the street below Waiawa/ Pearl Highlands station If you look to right there’s an orange truck that’s driving and disappears into the frame at 9:07 - That’s interesting but eerie 🎉

[@ChillinDylan]

@@matthewgarcia1499 Obviously, I edited out the time spent sitting at stations.

[@matthewgarcia1499]

@@ChillinDylan well it’s not obvious that u did but it’s all good

[@bmolitor615]

@@ChillinDylan I love how the clouds POP from A to B at every station :) thanks for cutting out those extra minutes

[@craigynot8182]

One of another idiotic projects fron Hawaii with no thought into what it means. Poor planning, poor enginering, poor budgeting and people just taking turns getting rich off this money pit. Useless with no consequences to anyone about going billons over budget and decades over completion. and after completion which is still up in the air the lack of ridership will doom this boondoggle of a joke!

[@shtonker8]

How dreadful over budget, expensive, did I say expensive!!! Built by digging up archeological and burial sites. An ugly stain on the island. Many businesses and houses taken by domain to make this tourist attraction, all in the fake excuse to speed up traffic from Ewa and Kapolei. Another blight on the island like the ferry was on the ocean!! Billions spent by to a company that went bankrupt in Italy...hewa!

[@bluebear6570]

What a tremendous waste of money!

[@warrengibson7898]

Can you say boondoggle?

[@ChillinDylan]

@@warrengibson7898 Boondoggle in the Boondocks.

[@sergiobainha5530]

The most stupid project ever! From someone who lived in Honolulu for 19 years.

[@ryy4n_]

enjoy your traffic on h-1 then

[@ChillinDylan]

@@ryy4n_ Yeah....if the rail doesn't go ANYWHERE near our home/job/school.....we have to take H1 to get around. I lived in Kalihi Valley, like 5 miles away from the nearest station (stadium), and even when the newer line opens, it will be Middle Street, which is still far. And again, it doesn't go near anywhere I want to go, except possibly Pearl Ridge. I can take Likelike to H1 and be at the airport in 10 minutes.

[@beavermuffin]

Then leave Hawaii trump troll.

[@ryy4n_]

@@ChillinDylan no you cant when traffic exists lol, stop being so anti public transit 🙄

[@ChillinDylan]

@@ryy4n_ lol I lived in Germany for 12 years when I was younger and rode my bike, the bus or the local train almost every day. I'm the biggest advocate of public transportation. Do you work for the rail?

[@5minutemajor223]

they could have built 100 new schools but they built this usless POS, i worked on part of this and it was a shit show.

[@thebabbler8867]

Nah, Hawaii NEEDS public transportation.

[@tristans48]

more trains = less traffic on roads and faster trip times.