The incident is what’s known as a “hard coupling,” where two trains connect while moving too fast.

It’s still not clear how the repairs affect the city’s plans to launch passenger service early next year.

The HART board chair said she’d like to see it happen sooner.

UPDATED: Those investigating the cracks have disagreed about their severity, but the final report still isn’t out.

UPDATED: The model for how to handle transit security varies from place to place. Honolulu considered using HPD but went a different route.

Saturday’s drill was a step toward rail going operational. Questions remain on some of the structural cracking, however.

Rail’s top executive said her agency has already fixed the problems with so-called “frogs” and it’s an old issue being dredged up.

HART dismissed the worries of a former track consultant as “the opinions of one individual.” A newly released memo indicates he’s not alone.

Mayor Rick Blangiardi called the development a “joyous and a historic day for us.”

UPDATED: If, by now, “we have not learned how to build rail, then we have no right to do so,” Colleen Hanabusa told the FTA.