More delays: LAX train contractor buys more time for testing

The long-awaited LAX People Mover train is facing new delays due to issues with the final stage of testing and ongoing disputes with the city of Los Angeles. The contractor’s latest estimate has the train opening in January.

Those delays put LINXS, the lead contractor for the project, teetering on breaching an agreement with the construction funders of the train. That agreement laid out that LINXS had to get the train ready for passengers before Oct. 8.

To avoid breaching that agreement, LINXS successfully secured an agreement this week with lenders to extend that deadline by two months to Dec. 8.

The 2.25-mile-long elevated train designed to transport riders between airport terminals and local transit was initially scheduled to open in 2023. The project is so far $880 million over budget.

The deadline extension

A spokesperson for LINXS said they welcome the agreement with lenders.

“The project is approximately 99% complete, and our focus remains on completing the remaining testing and turnover activities required,” the spokesperson said.

Had the deadline remained unchanged and the train unfinished, LINXS would have been in a state of a technical default, according to Seth Lehman, a senior director at Fitch Ratings, a credit agency monitoring the project.

Under a technical default, Lehman said lenders could have started a process of switching the contractor on the train though that would have proved to be “practically very difficult.”

The same situation could arise if the contractor fails to ready the train for passengers in December or if the deadline is not extended through a settlement in ongoing litigation against the city.

LINXS and the city of L.A. have agreed to extend contract deadlines on five occasions in the past.

Status of testing

In the spring, LINXS began testing how the train will operate when it’s open to the public. Airport officials at the time heralded the start of the testing phase as a “visible milestone” and predicted it would take 60 days to complete. 

According to documents prepared by LINXS requesting the latest deadline extension, recent testing has been paused twice to fix components of the tracks that "accommodate movement resulting from temperature changes, seismic activity and normal structural behavior.”

As of last week, LINXS said those fixes are “ongoing.”

The extension gives the contractor enough time to complete testing by Dec. 8 “as long as they start it within the next several weeks,” Shannon McCue, a director for Fitch Ratings, said in an interview with LAist.

In response to questions about the current testing delays, Los Angeles World Airports said safety and reliability of the train are its top priorities.

“We will not compromise on these stringent safety protocols, as delivering a system that safely, dependably, and durably serves Los Angeles and our upcoming global events is our primary focus,” the statement said.