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Honolulu receives $65 million in tax revenue for rail construction
A completely elevated line defeats the economics of light rail construction. Ground level lines would be more practical with dedicated right-of-way. Climbing to the elevated level at stops to access light rail vehicles would not be necessary, especially, for the handicapped.
In southeastern Queensland, Australia, a line of comparable length serving the Gold Coast is entirely on the ground save for the occasional bridges and overpasses.
Land costs in HI are so high that the elevated R-o-W was necessary to complete this project at a ‘reasonable’ cost.
If this is going to be an elevated light rail iine, is the power source for the trains going to be a third electrical rail or overhead wires? Taking the possibility of hurricanes into consideration, it would seems more practical to go with a third rail.