THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

58

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 

REQUESTING A STUDY OF THE FEASIBILITY OF ESTABLISHING A PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP TO DEVELOP A RAILROAD FROM WEST OAHU THROUGH CENTRAL OAHU TO THE NORTH SHORE OF OAHU.

 

WHEREAS, in 1886, Benjamin Franklin Dillingham was granted a franchise from King David Kalakaua to build a narrow gauge railroad on the island of Oahu, and opened the first nine miles of the railroad from Iwilei to Aiea on the King's birthday, November 16, 1889; and

WHEREAS, this railroad was extended to Pearl City on January 1, 1890, the Ewa sugar mill by August 1890, and around Kaena Point to reach Waialua, Haleiwa, and Kahuku by January 1, 1899; and

WHEREAS, while the main purpose of the railroad was the carrying of freight, including sugar and pineapples, and the mail, it also carried passengers from Honolulu around Kaena point to the Haleiwa Hotel, perhaps the first resort destination in the then territory; and

WHEREAS, by the end of World War II, the railroad became economically unfeasible due to the advent of automobiles and trucks; and

WHEREAS, in 1961, most of the railroad right-of-way reverted to State ownership; and

WHEREAS, a visitor-oriented, sightseeing, cruise-type rail operation, including dinner train rides, from West Oahu to the North Shore would create new jobs and give visitors another attraction and way of seeing more of Oahu, and also provide local residents with a new and fun mode of transit; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaiian Railway Society, an educational non-profit organization was formed in 1970 to save Hawaii's railroad history and restore portions of the former railroad tracks; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-Second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2004, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism is requested to organize a task force, including representatives from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Department of Transportation, Hawaiian Railway Society, interested landowners, the various affected branches of the United States military, railroad enthusiasts, and other interested parties, to study the feasibility of establishing a private and public partnership for the development of a visitor-oriented railroad that could also be used for public transit, connecting West Oahu, Central Oahu, and the North Shore; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism is requested to report findings and recommendations of the task force to the Legislature twenty days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2005; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, the Director of Transportation, and the Hawaiian Railway Society.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Developing Visitor-oriented Railroad; Study of Feasibility