LAX People Mover train on track for January 2026 launch

The Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners has approved the completion of the LAX Automated People Mover (APM) train by December 8, 2025, with operations set to start in January 2026.

The train will serve ticketed passengers, their guests, and airport employees for free, with trains arriving every two minutes during peak hours.

The commission that oversees Los Angeles airport (LAX) voted Thursday (July 18) to allocate USD$400 million more to settle legal claims over the long-awaited train, reports the LA Times.

The project is expected to carry 30 million passengers annually, reducing 42 million vehicle miles per year.

The facility will involve building six stations over 2.25 miles of elevated guideway, connecting to LAX’s terminals, Economy Parking, Metro Transit Center, and the Consolidated Rent-A-Car facility.

The end-to-end travel time is said to be 10 minutes, with trains reaching a top speed of 47 miles per hour.

LAWA Chief Executive John Ackerman is confident the timeline will be met, but warned that the dates aren’t concrete.

“We are building it on land that LAWA does not own, we are interacting with other agencies that we have no control over, and there are sometimes unforeseen problems on projects of this complexity,” Ackerman told the LA Times.

Construction on the elevated train was expected to be finished in 2024 ahead of the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics.

The project is about 95 per cent complete. However, disputes between the airport and the contractor, LAX Integrated Express Solutions, or LINXS, over timing, production and compensation have led to significant delays.

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