A new organization of business leaders has been formed to promote the $5.27 billion rail project, educate the public about its benefits and try to reassure leery city taxpayers that the finances for the project are sound.

The organization called Move Oahu Forward will raise money and buy advertising to boost the project, but will not be a political advocacy organization, said Richard J. Dahl, who is president and chief executive officer of the James Campbell Co., and former CEO of Bank of Hawaii.

Dahl is co-chairman of Move Oahu Forward, with Constance H. Lau, president and chief executive officer of Hawaiian Electric Industries. They join more than 30 leaders of Hawaii businesses and organizations, such as Hawaiian Airlines, First Hawaiian Bank, Castle & Cooke Hawaii and The MacNaughton Group, who signed up to support the rail project as board members of Move Oahu Forward.

"This is a critical time for the rail transit project," said Dahl, who with Lau answered questions Friday at an American Savings Bank conference room. "We lost the opportunity before, and we cannot afford to lose it again."

Dahl said he believes many of the people who have recently expressed concern about the project are worried the city cannot afford the line, which is planned to run between East Kapolei and Ala Moana Center.

He said he has been involved in the debate about building a rail system for Oahu for decades, has studied the financial plan, and has concluded it is sound.

There are some risks in any project as complex as a 20-mile rail line, but the half-percent excise tax on Oahu residents is already in place to raise $3.3 billion, and the city plans to secure a final commitment from the federal government this year for another $1.55 billion to help pay for rail, he said.

"We have confidence in the Federal Transit Authority’s review process, and believe Honolulu has a very viable project with a sound financial plan," Dahl said.

"We have a rare opportunity to vastly improve our transportation system on Oahu and secure a better quality of life for many in our community," Lau said. "The Honolulu rail transit project is an investment in our future. It will not only reduce traffic congestion, but also spur the growth of our local economy, benefit Oahu’s special environment and improve the lifestyles for so many island families. Rail transit is about a long-term vision for Hawaii. It is for our children and grandchildren."

Move Oahu Forward held its first event last week, bringing together more than 150 business and community leaders to outline its goals. Participants were also introduced to Dan Grabauskas, the new chief executive officer of the Hono­lulu Authority for Rapid Transportation.

Randy Roth, who is part of a group of rail opponents who are suing in federal court to try to stop construction on the project, predicted Move Oahu Forward won’t be able to convince the public that spending billions of dollars on rail is a good idea.

"The city has already spent millions of dollars promoting rail, and we’ve spent nothing," Roth said. "If the public is turning against rail, and we think the public has already turned against rail, we believe it’s because rail is just a bad idea. I don’t think spending additional millions of dollars trying to promote it is going to change that."

Rail has emerged as a central issue in this year’s mayoral race, but Dahl said the new group will not be involved in political advocacy.

"We’re going to get facts out, and if some people view that as political, they’ll view it as political, but we’re not here to support a candidate, because the election is not just about rail," Dahl said.

Former Gov. Ben Cayetano is running for mayor, and has promised to stop the project if he is elected. Mayor Peter Carlisle and former city Managing Director Kirk Caldwell both support it, and plan to continue it if they are elected.

Dahl said previous rail projects stalled because "I guess there just wasn’t sufficient will, when you come right down to it. People were not inconvenienced enough, and I think we were able to put Band-Aids on surface transportation by widening roads or building roads," he said. "I think we’ve just waited until many too many tomorrows, until we have people sitting in traffic just for hours at a time."

At least some of the business leaders involved in Move Oahu Forward may have direct economic ties to the proposed rail system. For example, the HART estimates it will spend $20 million to $24 million a year on electricity after the system is complete in 2019.

However, a spokeswoman for HEI said that under a new rate structure known as "decoupling," the additional electricity sales to the city because of rail operations will not result in additional profit for HEI.

Lau said the rail project may result in additional sales "but it actually doesn’t change the revenues for the utility."

Dahl and Lau said they do not know how much money Move Oahu Forward will raise in the effort to support rail.