Opponents of Honolulu's planned elevated rail line criticized the city today for not releasing a new study on the transit system.

Voters will get to voice their opinion on the elevated rail line on Tuesday, and the critics said it is important for voters to see the entire study before they go to the polls. The city plans to release an executive summary today and chapters of the study over the weekend.

Critics also charged that the study, called a draft environmental impact statement, is being delayed because it won't reflect favorably on the project.

Stop Rail Now backer and vocal critic Cliff Slater said the entire document should be released immediately.

"I think it's an outrage," Slater said.

"The executive summary is meant for people who are too ... lazy to read the details," Slater said. "And the devil, as we know, is always in the details."

"If I was a betting man, I'd say this (entire document) is coming out Tuesday afternoon maybe around 6 p.m."

Henry Curtis, executive director of the environmental group Life of the Land Hawaii, also expressed concerns the delay in the release of the full draft environmental impact statement was being done for political reasons.

"It sounds like a way for those pushing it to slant it to their perspective just before the election," Curtis said.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann, appearing on KGMB9 this morning, said his staff is working to release the full study as soon as possible.

Asked if the timing of the release was related to the election, Hannemann said, "This is strictly the call, as we have said all along, of the FTA (Federal Transit Administration). If you want to look at it politically, why would we release it three days before. It's dicey."

"We said we'd be open and transparent ... I didn't get to review it until 10 o'clock last night ... I've always said we are open and transparent. Let the people know," Hannemann said.