Builders involved in the $10 billion Skyline rail project have filed a lawsuit against the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) and the City and County of Honolulu, demanding at least $324 million in damages for breach of contract and unjust enrichment. The Hitachi Rail Honolulu Joint Venture (HRH) filed the lawsuit on December 20, claiming that the mismanagement of the Skyline project by the defendants “has led to countless delays and other errors resulting in significantly increased costs for HRH.”

Hitachi, a primary contractor responsible for installing and maintaining the driverless train operating system, was hired by HART in 2011 as part of a joint venture between Hitachi Rail STS SpA and Hitachi Rail STS USA.

This lawsuit adds to a series of legal disputes surrounding the project. In 2023, the Shimmick/Traylor/Granite team, working on a portion of the rail line, sued HART, alleging that the agency's failure to address utility relocation issues led to expensive delays. HART later settled for $60 million.

Originally slated for completion by 2020, the Skyline project’s finish date has now been pushed to 2030. The nearly 19-mile elevated guideway, which includes 19 stations, stretches from East Kapolei to Kakaako.

According to Hitachi’s lawsuit, the city opted not to hire a single design-build contractor for the entire project, which is a common practice in the rail industry. Instead, Honolulu and HART awarded numerous smaller contracts, but the city and HART’s failure to effectively coordinate these contractors led to “extraordinary delays and cost overruns,” the lawsuit alleges.

Hitachi further claims that it could not begin its work until other contractors completed the guideway, stations, and tracks, and that it was forced to absorb the costs of these overruns. The JV also alleges that the city “delayed any good faith efforts to resolve HRH’s claims, no doubt to delay further public criticism of its Skyline project mismanagement.”

As of publication, Honolulu officials had not responded to requests for comment, and HART declined to offer any statement. HART’s director of government relations and public involvement, Joey Manahan, stated via email: “HART appreciates the opportunity to respond, but at this time we are not able to discuss or comment on the active claim.”