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The rail authority’s executive director refuses to give up on the potential public-private partnership as the agency’s board looks to replace him.

City leaders and most HART board members want to cancel the public-private partnership process and start over.

Facing a more than $1 billion deficit, Amemiya and Blangiardi say they don’t have enough information to map out the next steps to finish the project.

The FTA considers rail the most “challenged and troubled project that they’re dealing with,” according to the HART board’s vice chairman.

Project leaders will likely struggle to secure more funding amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Honolulu’s mayor and rail’s top executive disagree over the best path for the project to succeed.

But the situation with the more than $9 billion project is so fluid right now that both Amemiya and Blangiardi struggle to say how they’ll handle it.

It remains unclear how the move would impact the transit project’s federal funding.

Generally, the Honolulu mayor suggested building the line into downtown and then resuming construction to Ala Moana Center once the funding becomes available.

More than ever, it looks like the city’s plans to pay for the $9 billion Honolulu rail project are disintegrating.