The people mover will run along a 2.25-mile concrete guideway that was completed last year
Los Angeles World Airports has released a new batch of construction photos showing progress on the new LAX automated people mover system, the centerpiece of the airport’s $5.5-billion Landside Access Modernization Program.
The people mover will run along a 2.25-mile concrete guideway that was completed last year, connecting the central terminal area with two new ground transportation hubs located to the east, as well as a new Metro Rail connection and a massive car rental hub.
Passengers will be transported via an elevated, monorail-like system within a fleet of 44 driverless INNOVIA 300 vehicles, which began arriving in Los Angeles last year. The people mover will operate every two minutes at peak hours, with an end-to-end trip of 10 minutes between the westernmost station in the central terminal area and the easternmost station at the rental car hub.
Plans call for a total of three stops within the central terminal area, which will connect to the passenger facilities around the notoriously congested horseshoe road through a series of pedestrian bridges. The people mover is expected to begin serving LAX passengers sometime in 2024.
Besides the ground transportation facilities, LAX is also undergoing a $15-billion revamp overhaul. The recent debut of the $1.73-billion West Gates expansion of the Tom Bradley International Terminal added 15 new passenger gates in a five-story, 1,700-foot-long building. The expansion is set for further expansion, in the form of a new L-shaped attachment that would add eight more passenger gates.
Moreover, the airport is expected to add a new passenger concourse attached to Terminal 1 and a new passenger terminal on the east side of Sepulveda Boulevard. These projects are expected to be completed by 2028, prior to the start of the Summer Olympic Games.
