Honolulu’s $5.3 billion rail transit project will be given the appropriated $55 million for the current fiscal year, U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye’s office announced Friday. 

The funding comes from the Federal Transit Orientation’s New Starts program, which funds transportation projects around the nation. The city is hoping to get $1.55 billion in federal funding for the project’s construction. 

New Starts funding was reduced to about $1.6 billion from $1.998 billion, but the Honolulu appropriation stayed in. 

“Federal funds are hard to come by in the current budget climate, and the fact that Honolulu will receive everything the president asked for is very encouraging,” Inouye said in a statement. 

For fiscal 2012, President Barack Obama is requesting $250 million for the rail project. The fiscal year begins Oct. 1.