Inflation has pushed the estimated cost of Honolulu's planned elevated commuter rail line up $200 million in the past two years, to $3.9 billion, according to a new city study.

The study also said the train would reduce traffic congestion by as much as 23 percent in 2030, compared with an alternative scenario that includes improvements to the freeway and bus systems.

These and other facts were included in a 10-page executive summary of the city's draft environmental impact statement.

Release of the summary — five days before voters decide on whether to proceed with the rail project — drew immediate criticism.

Rail opponents said the city should make the entire document public, not just the summary. City officials said they are taking extraordinary steps to release the full document as soon as possible even though they are not obligated to do so. They plan to release the full document this weekend.

The draft EIS is not expected to reveal any startling revelations. However, it will refocus attention on both the positive and negative impacts of the largest public works project in state history at a politically sensitive time. The report could provide information that may sway support for or against the project.

"I think it's an outrage" that the entire document was not released immediately, said Cliff Slater of the group Stop Rail Now. "The executive summary is meant for people who are too ... lazy to read the details. And the devil, as we know, is always in the details."

Among the items not released in yesterday's summary were details about the project's energy consumption, emissions, population assumptions and future traffic conditions.

The federal government authorized the city to release the draft EIS document mid-day Wednesday.

OVERRIDING INTEREST

Wayne Yoshioka, the director of the city's Department of Transportation Services, said the city was urged by the Federal Transit Administration to make the draft EIS available because of the public's interest in the document. The city is not obligated to release the draft until it determines it is complete, but the city chose to release the summary yesterday and the full document over the weekend.

Normally, the draft would not be widely released until after the city notifies the federal Environmental Protection Agency, for publication in the Federal Register, and the state Office of Environmental Quality Control, for publication in the Environmental Notice.

The earliest the announcement of the draft could be published in the state's Environmental Notice is Nov. 23. After that notice is published, the public would have 45 days to comment on the draft.

Still, City Council member Ann Kobayashi, who's running against incumbent Mufi Hannemann for mayor, said the entire draft EIS should have already been made available to the public. She criticized the city for selectively disclosing information from the draft EIS.

"You're not supposed to edit it, or pull things from it," Kobayashi said. "We paid for it. It's public money. It's a public document. The draft EIS should be in our hands yesterday."

Hannemann said city officials were working hard to get the document ready for public release. He also said the study provides validation for the project.

"I'm very pleased to say the information in the DEIS (draft environmental impact statement) validates the Honolulu City Council's decision to move forward with rail transit and the benefits it can bring to our island," Hannemann said in a news release.

"The project shrinks future traffic congestion by more than 20 percent, a 100 percent improvement over the amount estimated in the Alternatives Analysis (a separate rail study done in 2006). It also brings new information, such as the updated financial plan and construction costs that conclusively demonstrate that rail transit is the most cost-effective and affordable solution."

SHORTER COMMUTES

According to the new study, in 2030, morning rush-hour commuters to Downtown from Kapolei would save an average of 30 minutes by using rail. From 'Ewa, morning commuters would save 25 minutes.

Those benefits are greater than estimated in the 2006 study, which predicted that peak-hour congestion would be reduced by 11 percent in 2030. However, according to the 2006 study, even with the train system, there will be an estimated 57 percent increase in traffic on H-1 during morning rush hour in 2030 compared with 2003. That's because potential gains in transit ridership are expected to be eclipsed by the added traffic that will come with rapid population growth in West O'ahu.

According to the summary released yesterday, as many as 177 parcels could be acquired, either partially or fully, to make way for the train. Previously, about 150 parcels had been identified as possibly being affected.

Separately yesterday, the city said annual operating and maintenance costs for the rail line's Salt Lake route in 2030 would be $63 million, which was up $2 million from an earlier estimate. The city also disclosed that ridership for the Salt Lake route is estimated at about 90,000 daily riders in 2030, which was unchanged from a prior study. Daily ridership on the airport route rises to 95,000.

The project is funded by a half-percentage-point surcharge to the excise tax for O'ahu residents that started in January 2007 and by anticipated federal funds. A slowing state economy could mean lower-than-expected tax revenues for the train. Details released yesterday show the city's estimate for transit tax collections, which was created in 2006, remains essentially unchanged at about $4.1 billion. However, the city, which previously had been counting on an inflation-adjusted $925 million in federal funds, now is counting on about $1.2 billion to finance construction of the train.

Hannemann said cost could be lower due to the economic slowdown. "Additionally, we believe that the current economic slowdown may result in lower construction costs and I remain confident that we have the funds to build this project," he said.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

Work on the draft environmental impact statement was started late last year under an $86 million, two-year contract with New York transportation engineering firm Parsons Brinckerhoff. The statement was originally scheduled to be finished last spring. However, the city said it needed additional time to refine the impact statement.

Once the draft environmental impact statement is released, the city plans to provide at least 45 days for public comments, including at least one public hearing.

Under the project's current timetable, there's about a 12-month window between the date the draft environmental impact statement is released and a possible final approval — a so-called record of decision — from the federal government. That approval, expected in October 2009, brings the city one step closer to receiving federal money for the project.

Hannemann, who hopes to break ground on the project in December 2009, has said he will not begin construction without the record of decision.

Council member Gary Okino, who supports the rail project, agreed that voters should have access to the draft EIS. However, Okino defended the delayed release.

"It's just a logistical thing," he said. "They just wanted to get the summary out just to tell people what's in there."

Ultimately, the document will only help put the rail project in a more positive light, Okino added.

"This will just prove everything the city has been saying," about the benefits of rail, he said.