Mayor Mufi Hannemann yesterday said the route of Honolulu's $5.4 billion train won't be altered to avoid a small Waiawa neighborhood.

However, the 55 or so residents who may be forced to move out of the area will be compensated, he said during a news conference. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has urged the city to alter the 20-mile elevated train's route to avoid the area known as "Banana Patch."

Hannemann said his administration has had extensive talks with area residents, but has no plans to change the train's route to avoid relocating the small community situated between Kamehameha and Farrington highways. Some area residents have said they don't want to leave the area, which is slated to become a park-and-ride facility servicing the train.

"We are trying to get to a good place with them in terms of making them understand the aspect of some things have to be done for the greater good," Hannemann said. "There has been no one who has said that this is a bad plan. They might not want to leave and that's common. You've got to expect that."

The EPA also has asked the city to justify why alternatives to an elevated rail line, such as light rail at street level and bus rapid transit, weren't evaluated in the project's environmental impact study.

Hannemann characterized the EPA's concerns as routine. He said the East Kapolei-to-Ala Moana Center transit project remains on track to break ground in December.

"There's nothing there to indicate that this is going to be a showstopper or that this will block the project from going forward," Hannemann said.