LAX Automated People Mover
| LAX Automated People Mover | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 LAX Automated People Mover vehicle during construction in 2022 | |||
| Overview | |||
| Status | Under construction | ||
| Owner | Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) | ||
| Locale | Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) | ||
| Stations | 6 | ||
| Website | lalinxs | ||
| Service | |||
| Type | Automated people mover | ||
| Operator(s) | LAX Integrated Express Solutions (LINXS) | ||
| Rolling stock | Alstom Innovia APM 300 | ||
| History | |||
| Planned opening | January 2026[1] | ||
| Technical | |||
| Line length | 2.25 mi (3.62 km) | ||
| Number of tracks | 2 | ||
| Character | Fully elevated | ||
| Operating speed |
| ||
| |||
The LAX Automated People Mover is an automated people mover (APM) system under construction to serve the area around Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The system will be owned by Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), and LAX Integrated Express Solutions (LINXS)—a public–private partnership of ACS, Alstom, Balfour Beatty, Fluor and Hochtief, with assistance from HDR and Flatiron West—was awarded a 25-year contract to design, build, finance, operate, and maintain the line.[2][3] The 2.25-mile (3.62 km) line will include six stations linking the LAX Consolidated Rent-A-Car Facility (ConRAC), the Metro Rail system, and the LAX West Intermodal Transportation Facility (West ITF) with the airport’s central terminal area (CTA).
Construction was initially scheduled for completion in 2023, but the opening has been repeatedly delayed, and as of October 2025 it is estimated to begin passenger service in June 2026. A contract arbitrator found LAWA responsible for nearly two years of delay, and a Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury report concluded that the project’s setbacks stemmed from a strained relationship between LAWA and the LINXS consortium, political pressure to finish the system before major regional events, and shortcomings in the contract’s dispute-resolution provisions. In total, LAWA has agreed to more than US$880 million in dispute-related payments, in addition to the project’s US$4.9 billion, 25-year cost.[4]
Service description
[edit]
Route description
[edit]The LAX Automated People Mover (APM) will run 2.25 miles (3.62 km) along a line of six stations,[5] with parallel tracks forming a pinched loop.
The APM will serve three stations in the central terminal area (CTA) each with footbridges with moving walkways to nearby terminals. The west station will serve terminals 3, 4, and B (the Tom Bradley International Terminal), the center station will serve terminals 1, 2, 5, and 6, and the east station will serve terminals 7 and 8 with a future connection to terminal 1. Continuing to the east, the line will travel over Sepulveda Boulevard and skirt along the airfield where Terminal 9 is planned.[6]
At that point, the line turns to the north, crossing Century Boulevard to reach the LAX West Intermodal Transportation Facility (ITF), a large parking structure with a park-and-ride area and access to nearby hotels.
From there, the route continues east along 96th Street, passing the line's maintenance yard and crossing over the Metro Rail tracks as it arrives at the East ITF station atop the LAX/Metro Transit Center. This station will offer connections to the Los Angeles Metro Rail system and many local buses.
Trains then travel a short distance to the east and enter the LAX Consolidated Rent-A-Car Facility (ConRAC), a massive parking structure that will house all major rental car companies operating at LAX.[7]
Hours and frequency
[edit]The APM is expected to operate 24 hours a day. During peak hours (9 a.m. to 11 p.m.), trains will arrive every two minutes. The line will have a 10-minute end-to-end travel time.[8]
Rolling stock
[edit]
The APM fleet will consist of 44 Innovia APM 300 vehicles manufactured by Alstom (initially Bombardier Transportation). Each vehicle can accommodate up to 50 passengers and their luggage, with 12 seated and the rest standing.[9] During peak periods, nine four-car trains will operate simultaneously. Trains will operate with a top speed of 47 miles per hour (76 km/h) and an average speed, including stops, of 13.5 miles per hour (21.7 km/h).[10]
Each four-car train can accommodate up to 200 passengers. During peak hours, with a headway of every two minutes, up to 30 trains per hour are expected to enter LAX, carrying up to 6,000 passengers per hour per direction and up to 84,000 daily peak-hour passengers, or up to 30.7 million annual peak-hour passengers. The opposite direction capacity will be the same, enabling the system to theoretically transport up to 85 million passengers annually in both directions, including up to 23.7 million non-peak passengers.[11]
Station listing
[edit]The following is the complete list of stations, from west to east.
| Station Name | Connections and notes[12] | |
|---|---|---|
| A | West CTA | Terminals: 3, 4, B, Parking Garages: P3, P4 |
| B | Center CTA | Terminals: 1, 2, 5, 6, Parking Garages: P2a, P2b, P5, P6 |
| C | East CTA | Terminals: 7, 8, Parking Garages: P1, P7, Theme Building, Bob Hope USO, Future connection to Terminal 1[13] |
| D | Terminal 9 | Future infill station |
| E | West ITF | Economy parking garage, hotel shuttles, rideshare and taxi pick-up/drop-off, access to Airport Blvd |
| F | East ITF |    LAX/Metro Transit Center, private vehicle pick-up/drop-off, LAX FlyAway, charter buses, access to Aviation Blvd, future economy parking garage
|
| G | ConRAC | Consolidated rental car facility |
Traffic reduction
[edit]The ConRAC facility is projected to eliminate over 3,200 daily car-rental shuttle trips.[14] The East and West ITFs are projected to reduce parking and hotel shuttle trips and car trips into the CTA. The LAX/Metro Transit Center is projected to displace car trips by increasing transit ridership. Riders will include many of the over 57,000 people who work at the airport,[citation needed] in addition to airline passengers.
Upcoming Airfield & Terminal Modernization Project (ATMP)
[edit]The upcoming Airfield & Terminal Modernization Project (ATMP), scheduled for 2028, includes roadway improvements in the vicinity of the West ITF, with an elevated roadway system to separate airport traffic from local traffic.[15][16] Upon completion of these planned improvements, access from the north on Sepulveda Boulevard will be convenient to West ITF; access from Interstate 405 will be convenient to East ITF; and access from the south on Interstate 105 and the Sepulveda tunnel will be convenient to the planned APM station at Terminal 9.[citation needed]
Architecture
[edit]The six APM stations each feature a line of 20-foot diameter circular skylights, with an additional one in the mezzanine of the LAX/Metro Transit Center. The West ITF parking garage also features similar circular lighting fixtures.[17] The new pedestrian walkways employ a Vierendeel truss, featuring rectangular rather than triangular bracing.[18] The old-style pedestrian walkways with triangular bracing still service parking lots P1, P4, P5, and P7. The APM concrete guideway features "gentle sweeping curves and clean uniform look".[19][20] Each station features a single island platform, with level boarding, which serves trains in both directions. The proposed Terminal 9 infill station is the exception, with a pair of separate side platforms serving both directions.[21]
The East CTA station features a viewing platform for the Theme Building (see Gallery).
History
[edit]Background
[edit]
The Los Angeles International Airport has long struggled with gridlocked traffic on World Way, the main road that circles through the airport's central terminal area, that can often back up onto Century Boulevard or the Airport Tunnel, which connect the airport to Interstate 405 and Interstate 105 respectively.[9]
Ahead of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, a second level was added to World Way, sending vehicles dropping off departing passengers to the upper level and those picking up arriving passengers to the lower.[22] The relief was short-lived, and by the 2000s, the airport had ranked as one of the nation's most congested and hardest to navigate.[9] That led airport managers to spend over US$15 billion to modernize the airport, with an automated people mover (APM) being one of the major improvements. The project was given added urgency in 2017 when Los Angeles was awarded its bid to host the 2028 Summer Olympics.
Planning
[edit]
After receiving three bids, Los Angeles World Airports announced it had chosen LAX Integrated Express Solutions (LINXS) to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the APM for a period of 25 years.[2][3] LINXS is a joint venture, public–private partnership of ACS, Alstom, Balfour Beatty, Fluor and Hochtief, with assistance from HDR and Flatiron West.[23] The Los Angeles City Council approved the US$4.9 billion project on April 11, 2018.[3] Of the total amount, US$1.9 billion was allocated for initial design and construction.[4]
Beyond the construction of the APM guideway and stations, LAX has also planned several projects that will enable or connect to the APM. New vertical cores will be built near each terminal, enabling vertical movement of passengers with elevators and escalators, as well as pedestrian bridges over World Way with moving walkways to connect terminals to the APM stations and to existing airport parking structures. LAX is building cores between terminals 5 and 6, at terminals 7 and at terminal B (the Tom Bradley International Terminal) at the cost of $490 million. New cores were also included in larger renovation projects at terminals 1, 2, 3 and 4.[24]
The APM will also connect to the LAX West Intermodal Transportation Facility (West ITF), a US$294.1 million, 4,300 space parking structure with a lot to pick up and drop off passengers and areas for shuttle buses, the new LAX Consolidated Rent-A-Car Facility (ConRAC), a massive parking structure that will house all of the major rental car companies that operate at LAX in one location located adjacent to Interstate 405, and to the LAX/Metro Transit Center (East ITF), connecting passengers to the Los Angeles Metro Rail C and K Lines and other transit services.[25]
Altogether, these projects are called the Landside Access Modernization Program and are expected to cost a total of US$5.5 billion.[26]
Construction
[edit]In 2018, 2,100 parking spaces in lot C were removed to reconfigure the area for the West ITF.[26] Utility relocation started in the second quarter of 2018.[8] Construction on the West ITF officially began in the summer of 2019[27] and ConRAC broke ground in September 2019.[28] The first large concrete pour for the APM occurred in September 2020 at the West ITF station.[29]
Construction on the 2.25 miles (3.62 km) of two-track elevated guideway began in the spring of 2019 with the first underground support columns being placed. The first concrete for the columns was poured in January 2020. The pouring of the concrete for the guideway began in September 2020 and it was completed in May 2022. A total of 69,700 cubic yards (53,300 m3) of concrete was poured and one million work hours were completed to complete this project.[30][31][8]
Connecting Los Angeles's Metro Rail system to the airport, which was studied by transit planners since the 1980s,[32] started when Metro commenced construction on the LAX/Metro Transit Center on June 21, 2021. The new station will connect Metro and other transit services to the East ITF station. The new station will link the LAX Automated People Mover to the C and K rail lines, Metro Bus, and other municipal bus operator lines. Additionally, a customer service center and Metro Bike Hub will be constructed.[25]
After two years of construction, West ITF's economy parking structure opened on October 19, 2021. Until the APM opens, temporary shuttle buses transport passengers between the airport and the facility.[33]
As of May 2024[update], overall construction progress was 97.3% complete.[34] On April 29, 2024, the project test drove the one-car Maintenance Service Vehicle on the guideway between the Maintenance and Storage Facility (MSF), West ITF, and ConRAC.[35]
Construction delays
[edit]Construction of the line was originally scheduled for completion in 2023, but the project has experienced multiple delays. As of October 2025, Fitch Ratings projected that construction would be completed in January 2026, with testing and commissioning continuing through June 2026.[4]
During this period, Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) underwent several changes in executive leadership. John Ackerman was appointed CEO in February 2024,[36] Chief Development Officer Terri Mestas left for a new position the following month,[37] and three additional executives joined the agency in 2024.[38]
A Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury report concluded that the project’s delays stemmed from a strained relationship between LAWA and the LINXS consortium, political pressure to complete the people mover before major regional events, and shortcomings in the contract’s dispute-resolution provisions.[4] The report attributed those shortcomings to the outside law firm Nossaman, which it said had been retained for its expertise in design–build contracts. According to the Grand Jury, these factors contributed to hundreds of millions of dollars in additional costs and prolonged dispute resolution.[39]
On June 7, 2024, a technical expert serving as arbitrator under the contract (the “Project Neutral”) ruled that LAWA was responsible for 526 days of delay, having failed to act in good faith and comply with the contract documents, citing failures to timely integrate the people mover with airport communications systems and issues related to the construction of Metro Rail’s LAX/Metro Transit Center station, and awarded US$97 million in damages.[40] The Grand Jury report stated that, following this ruling, LAWA lost confidence in the Project Neutral process, believing it to be biased in favor of the contractor.[39]
The Grand Jury further noted that the Project Neutral was the sole dispute-resolution mechanism in the contract. Unlike agreements that provide for a panel of arbitrators, the people mover contract did not include such a provision, nor did it allow for the replacement of the Project Neutral once selected. The Grand Jury report characterized these features as defects in the contract drafted by Nossaman.[39]
After the initial ruling, LINXS filed an additional 209 claims. According to the Grand Jury, the deteriorating relationship between the parties contributed to those claims remaining unresolved and coincided with a slowdown in construction progress. The report stated that LINXS “leveraged the change-order process” and the threat of litigation to obtain settlements while maintaining progress toward major upcoming events in the region.[4][39]
LAWA and LINXS ultimately reached a “global settlement” covering all outstanding disputes for US$550 million, which formally extended the contractual completion date to December 2025. In total, LAWA agreed to more than US$880 million in change orders and dispute-related payments, including approximately US$252 million in design-related changes (attributed in project documents to regulatory requirements, unforeseen conditions, “betterments,” and document corrections), the US$97 million associated with the Project Neutral ruling, and the US$550 million global settlement..[4][39]
The ongoing delays and disputes also affected the project’s financial outlook. In 2024, Fitch Ratings cited “extended construction delays, prolonged dispute resolution, and difficulties in the parties’ working relationship” when it reevaluated the credit rating of the US$1.2 billion in bonds financing the project. In an August 2025 update, Fitch again referred to these issues in connection with the revised target completion date of June 2026.[4]
Gallery
[edit]-
Rendering of West CTA station as seen from the Tom Bradley International Terminal -
Rendering of the Center CTA station -
Rendering of the East CTA station and its viewing platform for the Theme Building
References
[edit]- ^ "LAX has fallen in global airport rankings. Will a pre-Olympics transformation help?". latimes.com. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
- ^ a b "Three Firms Have Submitted Bids to Build a People Mover at LAX". KNBC. November 10, 2017. Archived from the original on March 17, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018 – via City News Service.
- ^ a b c Nelson, Laura J. (April 11, 2018). "City Council approves long-awaited people mover to LAX". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 12, 2018. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g Harjai, Kavish (October 1, 2025). "The LAX Automated People Mover is long delayed and $880M over budget. Here's what went wrong". LAist. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
- ^ Cain, Josh (March 14, 2019). "Officials touted 2.25-mile LAX Automated People Mover at groundbreaking". Daily Breeze. Archived from the original on March 9, 2023. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
- ^ "Airfield & Terminal Modernization Project Elements". LAWA. Los Angeles World Airports. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
- ^ "LAX is bringing all rental car companies to one location near 405 with People Mover train to airport". Daily Breeze. September 12, 2019. Archived from the original on March 9, 2023. Retrieved September 12, 2019 – via City News Service.
- ^ a b c Sharp, Steven (February 16, 2018). "Renderings Galore for the LAX Automated People Mover". Urbanize LA. Archived from the original on February 23, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^ a b c Uranga, Rachel (August 3, 2022). "LAX's traffic nightmare could end with new people mover, but you'll have to wait". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 4, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
- ^ "Automated People Mover (APM) Train System". Los Angeles World Airports. Archived from the original on August 29, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
- ^ "APM Train Car Fact Sheet". Los Angeles World Airports. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
- ^ LAX Unveils Automated People Mover Train (Video). Los Angeles World Airports. August 2, 2022. Event occurs at 0:38. Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022 – via YouTube.
- ^ "East CTA Station Fact Sheet" (PDF). LAX Integrated Express Solutions. 2020. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
- ^ "LAX Integrated Express Solutions (LINXS)".
- ^ "LAWA Official Site | Transforming LAX".
- ^ "LAX Airport map". Archived from the original on July 28, 2022.
- ^ https://www.lawa.org/connectinglax/construction-photos/2021-february (photo #13)
- ^ "LAX commences automated people mover pedestrian walkway construction". June 15, 2021.
- ^ "An Inside Look at the Innovative Guideway Design for LAX's Automated People Mover Project | HDR". October 11, 2023. Archived from the original on January 24, 2024. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
- ^ "Aspire Magazine Fall 2023 Page 18".
- ^ "LAX's Terminal 9 Industry Showcase, April 14, 2023". YouTube. April 17, 2023.
- ^ Levin, Jay (April 22, 1984). "LAX being molded into an easy airport". Daily Breeze. Copley News Service. p. A1 – via NewsBank.
- ^ "Meet the Team". LAX Integrated Express Solutions (LINXS). Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
- ^ "LAWA Official Site | Transforming LAX". www.lawa.org. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
- ^ a b Jager, Rick (June 21, 2021). "Groundbreaking held for Airport Metro Connector project". The Source. Archived from the original on April 16, 2024. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
- ^ a b Sharp, Steven (December 8, 2017). "LAX Takes First Step Toward Construction of $5.5-Billion Landside Access Modernization Project". Urbanize LA. Archived from the original on February 9, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^ "LAX Breaks Ground on Intermodal Transportation Facility – West, A Key Component of the Landside Access Modernization Program". Los Angeles World Airports (Press release). Archived from the original on July 21, 2019. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
- ^ "Mayor Garcetti and Los Angeles World Airports Break Ground on Historic Consolidated Rental Car Facility". Los Angeles World Airports (Press release). September 12, 2019. Archived from the original on September 24, 2022. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
- ^ Sharp, Steven (September 15, 2020). "Construction Continues for LAX Automated People Mover". Urbanize LA. Archived from the original on September 16, 2020. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
- ^ "Fluor Joint Venture completes LAX's APM train guideway structure". Mass Transit (magazine). May 5, 2022. Archived from the original on May 6, 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
- ^ "Officials Break Ground On $5.5 Billion People Mover At LAX". CBS Los Angeles. March 14, 2019. Archived from the original on March 1, 2020. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
- ^ COASTAL CORRIDOR RAIL TRANSIT PROJECT NORTH SEGMENT (PDF). Metro (Report). Bechtel. August 1988. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 24, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
- ^ "New LAX parking structure opens Tuesday with 4,300 new spots, pre-booking discounts". KTLA. October 15, 2021. Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
- ^ "Automated People Mover Project - Monthly Report for May 2024" (PDF). LAX Integrated Express Solutions. June 14, 2024. p. 5. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
- ^ "Monthly Performance Report – April 2024" (PDF). California Public Utilities Commission. May 29, 2024. p. 19. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
- ^ "Mayor Karen Bass Recognizes City Council's Confirmation of John Ackerman as CEO of Los Angeles World Airports". LA City. December 12, 2023. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
- ^ Lindblom, Mike (March 29, 2024). "Sound Transit will pay $600K to new megaproject leader hired from LAX". The Seattle Times. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
- ^ "Los Angeles World Airports Announces the Appointment of Chief Airport Administrative Officer, Chief People and Culture Officer, and Chief of Staff". LAWA. March 20, 2024. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Nathan, Bob; Lesley, Victor; Apuya, Nestor; Gidlow, Lynn; Maynes, Terry; Smith, Jenalea (June 30, 2025). "LAX Automated People Mover" (PDF). Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury. pp. 549–602. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
- ^ "Project Neutral Recommendations" (PDF). LAX Integrated Express Solutions. June 7, 2024. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
External links
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