HONOLULU — Hitachi Rail is suing the city of Honolulu and the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation over cost overruns on the Skyline light rail project.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports Hitachi Rail Honolulu JV, the project’s principal contractor, is suing for more than $324 million, claiming breach of contract and unjust enrichment over the nearly $10 billion automated, elevated light rail line. The company says HART’s inability to set timely schedules caused tens of millions of dollars in cost increases, which Hitach says it has been forced to absorb.
A HART spokesman said the agency was not able to discuss or comment on the suit.
The suit says the agency’s “mismanagement” of the project “led to countless delays and other errors resulting in significantly increased cost for HRH in performing its design-build work and operations and maintenance for the project.” As an example, it cites the installation of rail by another contractor that was incompatable with the wheel specifications provided by HART, “which HART required HRH to resolve without compensation” [see “Digest: MBTA sidelines new CRRC cars …,” Trains News Wire, March 17, 2021]. The suit also said the company was forced to mobilize an operations and maintenance workforce when “HART knew or should have known that HRH’s mobilized workforce would not be needed for a substantial period.”
The first 10.75 miles of the 18.9-mile, 19-station Skyline system opened on June 30, 2023, more than 2½ years after the original target date. The entire system is expected to cost about twice its original estimate [see “Honolulu rail system to debut today,” News Wire, June 30, 2023].
“Inability to set time schedules”
There is an old saying in Hawaii…”why hurry? on an island you will just end up where you started sooner”