Unfortunately our corrupt political system is fixed on rail and will not scrap the project.  As one who always opposed rail I see that the challenge now is to make the best of a bad situation, modify the plan, and stop the elevated monster at Middle Street by bringing it down to street level through town.  This would be better for 5 main reasons: 
- elevated to Ala Moana is ugly & expensive;
COMPARED to BUS TRANSFER at Middle:
- inconvenient transfer at Middle takes time; 
- rail offers a smoother ride than bus, with roomier vehicle;  
- rail could be extended to UH and Waikiki eventually; 
- space can be found on our streets for light rail, with selective widening and upgrade of roads, such as N. King St and S. Beretania St. 
train plans can be modified so that the vehicles travel elevated to Middle then come down to street level and continue at street level, a technology operating with great success in hundreds of cities worldwide.  This will make the best of a bad situation.