A proposal by Kauai Kilohana Partners to operate a commercial narrow-gauge railroad in East Kaua‘i for the first time in 50 years has been given the green light by the Kaua‘i County Planning Department.
The 103-acre project proposal calls for the construction of a 2.5-mile “excursion railway system” on the grounds of Kilohana Plantation and on adjacent agricultural land in Puhi.
If approved, the project would allow residents and visitors to get a glimpse of the types of trains that were a key part of the operations of Kaua’i’s sugar plantations more than 50 years ago. The trains crisscrossed the island and hauled tons of sugar cane from the fields to mills for processing.
Meeting on Tuesday, the Kaua‘i County Planning Commission was ready to vote on the proposal, but deferred action to allow the leaders of Kaua‘i Kilohana Partners to review conditions in a planning department report recommending the commission approved permits requested by the company.
County planners said Kauai Kilohana should design and construct a new roadway at the north side of the intersection of Kaumuali‘i Highway and Nuhou Road.
The new road is intended to replace an existing connection to Kaumuali‘i Highway situated farther to the west of the intersection, the report said.
The condition is being imposed to improve the tour train operations, when and if they start, and to facilitate traffic flow on the highway. Fred Atkins, one of the leaders of Kauai Kilohana, said that condition would benefit the project and help ease traffic flow on Kaumuali‘i Highway through Lihu‘e and Puhi.
The new road should be completed within a year after the permits sought by leaders of Kauai Kilohana are granted.
Should the train-tour operations start “prior to the roadway/driveway improvement at the north side of the intersection,” the hours of operation would be limited from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., the report said. Tours would not run longer than an hour.
But upon completion of the improvements, the tours could be run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and tours would not be longer than an hour, the report said.
For special events, occasional late afternoon or early evening tours could be allowed, the report said.
Further related to traffic concerns, planning department staffers recommended company representatives continue to work with the state Department of Transportation Highways Division, the Kauai Community College and Island School to provide people with another way to get from the college and Island School to the intersection of Kaumuali‘i Highway and Nuhou Road.
In their report to the commission, county planners said the project had merit, noting:
- The railroad excursion tours would occur during the day time, and is in a location where it will not impact surrounding areas nor create adverse impacts on homes in Puhi.
- Most of the alignment of the tracks would run on existing cane haul roads and should not adversely affect agricultural uses in surrounding areas.
- The leaders of the business venture intend to restore agricultural uses on portions of fallow sugar cane lands. The plan calls for growing sugar cane, taro, bananas, papayas, rambutan, chermoya and commercial hardwoods.
- The trains will transport produce grown in the fields and equipment to and from the agricultural fields.
The leaders of Kauai Kilohana are seeking County of Kaua‘i permits including a special permit, a use permit and a Class VI zoning permit for their proposal.
For the project, company representatives have talked with business interests in the Philippine Islands to buy two narrow-gauge locomotives and bring them to Kaua‘i for their project.
The locomotives were used on O‘ahu in the past, and were very likely similar to locomotives in Hawai‘i that were sold to sugar plantations all over the world as sugar companies on O‘ahu began to shut down railroad systems in the 1940s and 1950s and began using cane haul trucks for hauling sugar due to lower operating costs, efficiency and flexibility.
