The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) and contractor Ansaldo Honolulu Joint Venture announce the arrival of the third train in the growing fleet for the Honolulu Rail Transit Project.

The four cars that make up the 260-foot long train were hauled from the Hitachi Rail Italy final assembly plant in Pittsburg, California to port in San Diego, before being shipped to Oahu and off-loaded at Pier 2 at Honolulu Harbor. The cars are now being prepped for transport to the Project’s Rail Operations Center (ROC) in Waipahu.

Each rail car will be transported during non-peak times and led by a police escort to minimize impacts to traffic. One car will be shuttled on each of the following days: Thursday, August 2; Friday, August 3; Saturday, August 4; and Monday, August 6.

Ansaldo Honolulu is expecting delivery of more trains over the next several months. Eventually, twenty trains will comprise HART’s full fleet, with as many as seventeen trains operating during peak hours when the rail system is fully operational.

“This is a significant step forward in the delivery of the Honolulu Rail Transit Project,” said HART Executive Director Andrew Robbins. “We’ve conducted extensive testing of our first two initial trains over the last several months and, with more trains making their way to Honolulu, we are getting closer to providing much-anticipated passenger service.”

The Honolulu Rail Transit Project is targeting late-2020 for interim service between Kapolei and Aloha Stadium, with full-service slated for 2025.