LAX Automated People Mover project one step closer to completion

You can now sneak a peek of LAX’s Automated People Mover as the project moves into a major milestone.

The train cars will be crossing over Sepulveda and Century boulevards and moving into the Central Terminal Area for the first time.

Jake Adams, a deputy executive director at Los Angeles World Airports, told LAist this is the first time the train is getting some visibility, and it’s exciting to see it come together.

“This is going to be an absolute game changer for not only folks that use LAX, it's going to be a game changer for the community in helping to reduce the traffic impacts that LAX creates,” he said. “And just for travelers in general, it's just going to be an absolutely wonderful experience and it'll give people a number of different options.”

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Where the people mover stands

The Automated People Mover cars started test runs earlier this year, between the upcoming Consolidated Rent-A-Car facility and a station in the LAX Economy parking garage.

The LAX Automated People Mover project.

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Courtesy of Los Angeles World Airports and LAX Integrated Express Solutions

)

And this new phase will build on that progress, officials said.

Crews will conduct these next sets of tests in the coming weeks to make sure the vehicles can clear the elevated track and move through the three people mover stations inside the Central Terminal Area.

“We want to make sure that the train is 100% reliable and also 100% safe, and so we go through a pretty meticulous process to test it,” Adams said.

It’ll take a little more than a year to do that, and he noted it’s the first of many.

A pair of people mover cars will be running at slower speeds, gradually picking up the pace until they’re at full speed, which will be another major milestone. There are 44 cars in total, and they’ll eventually be connected into four-car trains. 

The LAX Automated People Mover project.

(

Courtesy of Los Angeles World Airports and LAX Integrated Express Solutions

)

Once complete, as soon as January 2026 and in time for the 2028 Olympics, the people mover will connect passengers to airport terminals, rental car facilities, the Metro Crenshaw/LAX line and economy parking.

“To have that true connection to public transportation from the airport is going to be fantastic,” Adams said.

They will also be building a series of pick-up and drop off curbs next to the 405 Freeway, which Adams added will save your loved ones from spending 45 minutes stuck in the horseshoe.

The people mover is expected to slash 42 million vehicle miles and carry more than 30 million people to and from the airport in its first year.