In 2011 the FTA and the city put together a comprehensive Risk Report for rail.  This report has been hidden from the public by HART.  I do not think our elected representatives have read this report.  The report has not been in the press.  
If you read the report, you understand that building rail through downtown Honolulu is so problematic that there can be no fixed price.  The report is filled with risks that are 90% sure to happen and each one could delay construction for up to one year.