Pacific Resources Partnership and the organization Faith Action for Community Equity yesterday asked to join in the court case over Honolulu’s rail transit project, filing a motion in federal court in an effort to support the rail project.

The two organizations contend the environmental impact statement done for the rail project meets all federal requirements, and they hope to persuade the federal court to allow the project to proceed. Also joining in yesterday’s court filing is Kapolei resident Melvin Uesato.

PRP, which is a cooperative between the Hawaii Carpenters Union and contractors, argued the lawsuit challenging the rail project amounts to an attempt to undo decades of transportation planning aimed at providing convenient, affordable public transportation on Oahu.

"Rail transit is the clear catalyst that will get our members back to work, and lays the groundwork for a 21st century Honolulu that is truly sustainable," PRP Executive Director John White said in a written statement announcing the court filing.

The rail critics who filed the lawsuit last May include former Gov. Ben Cayetano and longtime rail opponent Cliff Slater.

Also joining in the suit to block rail are former judge and former Hawaii Democratic Party Chairman Walter Heen, University of Hawaii law professor Randall Roth, Dr. Michael Uechi, the environmental group Hawaii’s Thousand Friends and the Small Business Hawaii Entrepreneurial Education Foundation.

The rail critics’ lawsuit asks the federal court to block construction of the rail system until a supplemental environmental impact statement is done to correct alleged problems with the EIS and other rail planning documents.

The rail critics contend the city should reconsider basic issues such as the route the city selected for the rail line, and whether the steel-wheel-on-steel-rail system the city selected is the best choice for Honolulu.