The City and County of Honolulu (City) received the prestigious American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Innovation Award, which honors transit agencies and organizations that demonstrate groundbreaking concepts or problem-solving techniques in mobility. The City was recognized for Skyline, the nationʻs first fully automated, driveless rail system.
“We are truly honored to receive this award and to be recognized on a national level,” said City and County of Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi. “This achievement reflects the incredible work happening across our entire project team and is a testament to our commitment to providing a modern, safe and reliable transportation network for residents and visitors alike.”
HART Executive Director and CEO Lori Kahikina and Honolulu Department of Transportation Services Director Roger Morton accepted the award during APTA’s TRANSform and EXPO event in Chicago, Illinois on Tuesday, October 6, 2026.
“Receiving the APTA Innovation Award is a monumental honor for the City and County of Honolulu, HART, and all of our stakeholders. This national recognition underscores our commitment to delivering a world-class, state-of-the-art transit system for Oahu,” said HART Executive Director and CEO Lori Kahikina. “Skyline showcases how innovation can provide, safe, efficient, and reliable mobility across communities.”
Skyline is the first fully automated light metro system in the United States and the nation’s first transit system with automated platform screen gate technology. Skyline utilizes an Automated Train Control system that serves as the intelligent center of the system, enabling fully automated train operation.
Other key automated functions include automated yard operations to dispatch and stable trains, including automated train parking function, automated tracking, monitoring and analysis of maintenance activities, automated coupling of trains for rescue operations, automated diagnostics to find and locate system failures, automated staggering of train starts at stations to reduce peak power demand, automated system service performance monitoring and reporting, and advanced analytics integrated into Skyline’s closed-circuit television (CCTV) system.
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