LAX People Mover Delayed Again, Now Not Expected Until January

The People Mover train system at Los Angeles International Airport will not open in October as most recently planned, according to a disclosure this month from the project’s contractor, LAX Integrated Express Solutions. The new target is January, though officials have not confirmed a firm date.

The 2.25-mile automated train is meant to shuttle passengers around LAX, connecting terminals to parking, the rental car center and the $900 million LAX Metro Transit Center, which opened last year but cannot function as intended without the People Mover running.

The project broke ground in 2019 with an original price tag of $1.9 billion and a planned 2023 opening. The cost has since grown to $3.34 billion, and the most recent projections point to a possible 2027 start of service.

Before it can open, the system still needs at least a month of testing, an independent review, an assessment from Los Angeles World Airports — the city agency that operates LAX — and a utility agreement with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

In the meantime, travelers moving between terminals, parking areas and transit connections at LAX have relied on shuttle buses, with trips that could take five minutes by train instead taking up to an hour by shuttle.

The delay comes after LAX handled a surge of visitors this summer for the FIFA World Cup without the train in operation. Whether the People Mover will be running in time for the Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium in February, or the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics, remains unclear.

The People Mover is part of a broader $30 billion overhaul of LAX. It joins other major California infrastructure projects that have faced long delays and cost overruns, including the state’s high-speed rail system — now in its 20th year with no track yet laid — and the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing over Highway 101, which has also run years behind schedule and over budget.