EDITORIAL
All aboard for the Ko Olina Choo Choo

Ah, there's nothing quite as romantic or relaxing as lounging in an elegant train pulled by an old-fashioned locomotive and watching the world go by, especially if there's a good dining car within easy reach.

Northern California has the popular Napa Valley Wine Train, which comes with a gourmet meal and wine tasting as it tours the region's scenic vineyards. And Trinidad, Colo., is poised to launch the area's first tourist train on July 4.

So why not have a steam train with a diner car running from O'ahu's North Shore to Ko Olina on the Leeward Coast? We certainly have the stunning scenery, and it sure would beat sitting in highway traffic and inhaling exhaust fumes.

That's what Tim Duttle has been dreaming about for the last eight years. Instead of fizzling, his plans for a railroad are growing more ambitious.

Tuttle originally got interested in building a six-mile tourist railroad between Hale'iwa and Waialua. That, he says, got choked in red tape. Now, he's shooting for a $200 million narrow-gauge, steam locomotive railroad line between the North Shore and Ko Olina that would serve tourists as well as commuters.

He recently peddled his idea to state and county officials as well as O'ahu landowners, and was well received. Turns out Duttle's proposed train could run along O'ahu's old rail routes, because the O'ahu's Rail & Land Co. rights-of-way are still in place.

The question is, who pays for the railroad and what disruption would it cause? All that needs to be explained in a feasibility study. Duttle, who started the North Shore Railroad Co., knows every inch of O'ahu's rail-worthy terrain and seems to see no major logistical barriers to his plan.

However, financing is the big question mark. Presumably, a self-sustaining north-south railroad line would be backed by private investors. But the railroad, which would accommodate tourists and commuters, might also qualify for public financing, at least to get it off the ground. It's not as though there isn't a precedent.

For example, the Federal Railroad Administration in 1999 granted $27,000 to the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation to conduct a feasibility study and implementation plan for a tourist train to run between Strasburg Junction and Shenandoah Caverns, Va.

Ultimately, though, Duttle's proposed railroad linking the North Shore to the Leeward Coast appears to depend on whether Ko Olina becomes a major tourist destination. And that could take a while.

If Ko Olina succeeds in becoming O'ahu's second-biggest tourist destination, after Waikiki, tourists could take a leisurely train ride to the North Shore, stopping at 'Ewa Villages and Waipahu. In turn, North Shore residents working in Ko Olina might opt to let the train take the strain.

It's an intriguing idea, and warrants further research. After all, wouldn't it be romantic to travel aboard the Ko Olina Choo Choo?