There is an aspect about the rail system being considered for Oahu that appears to be completely overlooked although it is a crucial ramification of the project -- a consideration that will affect every resident of this island.

Nearly all modern-day rail systems are run on electricity. Now Hawaii has the highest electric rates in the country. So the question is, what is going to happen to prices, supply and demand when the rail project is finally built and increases demand on the system? Who is going to pay for the additional oil and other resources to augment the supply? The answer is the rate-payers, prices for electricity for everyone will have to rise.

The fanciful dream of the island becoming energy independent will be greatly setback with the implementation of rail. The energy will have to come from somewhere. How many windmills would HECO have to build to supply a rail line? Is this island even big enough?

Rail, most likely, will increase the demand for imported oil for the islands, not reduce it. One of the problems with rail is that it runs continually, even when ridership is low. It may service commuters during the crush but the rest of the time it is underutilized, but the cost overhead remains pretty much the same. Not an efficient use of resources.

More electrical generating capacity will have to be built to service rail. A couple of times this year HECO has already called for a decreased use of electricity to avoid brown-outs. This situation is not going to get any better, only worse. Rail will exacerbate this problem.

The island also experienced the vagaries of the wind this week when a dozen or so power poles were blown down by a freak wind. This isn’t really an unexpected occurrence here, although it is rare.

Now imagine what would have happened if Kahe was already built with the previously planned windmills and that freak wind had visited the islands then? Would we then be starting over? Suppose windmills were built in the Kahuku area (although they don’t want hotels and jobs so why would they want windmills?) and then the next hurricane happens to hit that area? What would the result be?

The additional cost of more power generation to service the rail project is just another one of those hidden costs that hasn’t been figured into the mix. This island isn’t big enough and doesn’t have the job density or the population density to really justify rail. To compare it to Singapore or other large cities like it is comparing apples to oranges.

All these considerations will be brushed aside by the proponents of rail because, like the advocates of smart growth, facts and common sense don’t matter, just an ideology that says “We must do this because we think it is a good idea.” Meanwhile the failure of these projects to come in under budget or perform as advertised across the country is ignored. Ignorance is bliss.

Don Newman, senior policy analyst for the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii and can be reached at: mailto:newmand001@hawaii.rr.com