LAX's 'embarrassing misstep' draws closer to being fixed

The new Automated People Mover (APM) train car is unveil at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

Oct. 27, 2024 6:30 AM PT

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Sunday, Oct. 27. I’m your host, Andrew J. Campa. Here’s what you need to know to start your weekend:

Rail option inches closer to LAX.
Your guide to the 2024 California election.
Israel launches retaliatory attack on Iran.
And here’s today’s eNewspaper

Los Angeles looks to connect LAX to a metro option

While a fair amount of customer complaining involving Los Angeles International Airport transportation revolves around the congested ride sharing stop LAX-IT, a less noticeable struggle is finding connecting public transportation.

While there is a C Line (formerly Green Line) connecting bus, there isn’t a true rail option for LAX.

My colleague Colleen Shalby documented what city officials and transit experts have called “an embarrassing misstep” and how close some are getting to rectify this gaffe via the new Automated People Mover train.

Life without a rail option

Most major airports offer a light rail connection typically accessed by a people mover. At LAX, a variety of factors stalled that reality.

In the 1990s, Metro’s then-Green Line was expected to offer a direct connection to LAX but ended two miles short of the terminals. At its closest, it’s less than 900 yards from the runways.

Airport officials were reportedly concerned over potential lost parking profits if travelers had a Metro option. According to media reports in 1990, LAX officials raised the cost of parking to bring in more parking revenue, which helped lower the cost of landing fees for airlines.

Competing interests over the use of taxpayer dollars were also at play. Bypassing the airport meant the line could continue farther south to Redondo Beach.

“The building of the Green Line is a major step forward,” MTA Chief Executive Officer Franklin E. White said in 1995. “The fact that it doesn’t tie in at the moment to the airport doesn’t mean that it wasn’t a good idea.”

When will a rail connection to LAX open?

That elusive air-rail link is almost here.

The long-awaited people mover opens in 2026 and it will connect LAX to the Metro rail system from the K Line and the C Line.

Once running, Metro riders will board the people mover at the upcoming LAX/Metro Transit Center Station at Aviation Boulevard and 96th Street directly from the K Line or C Line.

That route will change for the first time since it opened in 1995 — instead of heading south from El Segundo, the C Line will curve upward and end at the transit center. The K Line will then run on the tracks that extend to Redondo Beach.

“We don’t often do this with rail lines — snipping pieces of them and putting them into other lines. Usually we’re just extending a line or opening a new line. So this one’s a little bit trickier, but it’s all a good outcome,” said Joseph Forgiarini, senior executive officer of service development, scheduling and analysis at Metro.

Many roads now lead to LAX

Someone traveling from downtown to LAX will have two ways — the A Line to the C Line or the E Line to the K Line — to get to the transit center, where they’d board a people mover train upstairs to the terminals.

Residents in places such as Redondo Beach, Norwalk, Leimert Park and Inglewood will be able to make it to LAX on one Metro train, while those in Long Beach, Santa Monica, Pasadena, Azusa and East L.A. will need to take two.

LAX to Hollywood or Universal Studios would take three trains.

Airport officials and transportation experts believe the 2.25-mile train will significantly reduce traffic at the airport.

“There’s certainly the value to the airport that’s critical,” said Darin Chidsey, deputy executive director and chief operating officer of the Southern California Assn. of Governments. “But being able to have a viable and efficient and easy transit option that the [people mover] offers is going to provide great benefits well beyond the boundaries of LAX.”

For more on this big, upcoming change, check out the full article here.

The week’s biggest stories

illustration of the state of California and an "I voted" sticker

Election 2024

Your guide to the 2024 California election.
L.A. Times owner’s decision not to endorse in presidential race sparks resignations, questions.
State watchdog agency is investigating donations to Kevin de León’s reelection campaign.
Beyoncé delivers a speech backing Harris, emphasizing abortion rights.
Bill Clinton stumps for Democrats in Orange County with control of the House on the line.

World Series coverage

World Series brings brief ‘Carmageddon’ traffic for Dodger fans, but with time to get to seats.
A humbled, scandal-plagued New York faces L.A. with less superiority, snark.
Food fight: L.A., New York Catholic leaders make friendly wager over World Series outcome.
Column: After a season of adversity, Freddie Freeman achieves a dream baseball moment.
Hey Yankees fans, think you got the better food city? L.A. says, hold my smoothie.
Column: What L.A. can learn from this year’s Dodgers.

Crime, courts and policing

Judge halts expulsion of 5th grader over rap lyrics, squirt gun emoji until trial.
Grammy winner Lil Durk charged in murder-for-hire plot near Beverly Center mall.
Column: A Trump judge just overturned the government’s most effective anti-fraud tool, which has stood for 160 years.
LeBron and Bronny James made history on court. Now they may have to appear in court over alleged car crash.
Rod Wave concert postponed after disturbance near Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.

Housing and infrastructure

VA appeals judgment ordering thousands of housing units built on its West Los Angeles campus.
Clippers and Rams owners come out against Inglewood people mover, as $2.4-billion project falters.
L.A. home where Matthew Perry died sells for $8.55 million.

More big stories

L.A. County man charged with sexually assaulting 11-year-old walking home from school.
4 lifesaving tips for if you spot a mountain lion on the trail.
19 very festive L.A. and O.C. places to celebrate the great pumpkin.

Get unlimited access to the Los Angeles Times. Subscribe here.

Column One

Column One is The Times’ home for narrative and longform journalism. Here’s a great piece from this week:

Lyle and Erik Menendez leave a courtroom in blue prison uniforms.

Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón’s blockbuster announcement that he will seek to have Erik and Lyle Menendez resentenced for their parents’ brutal murders marked the first time the brothers had hope of leaving prison since their convictions nearly 30 years ago. It’s also simply the first step in a long process.

More great reads

How a forgotten California border town became a hip hideaway — with hot springs and music.
Amid controversy, California and the Biden administration are preparing new water plans.
Commentary: My grandfather’s teacher, murdered for resisting Nazis, has lessons for Americans today.
Column: Surrounded by violence, drug dealing and overdoses, workers at this L.A. restaurant struggle to hang on.

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to [email protected].

For your weekend

Photo of a man on a background of colorful illustrations like a book, dog, pizza, TV, shopping bag, and more

Going out

🃏 Comedian J.B. Smoove talks about his ideal “Sunday Funday” that includes grabbing lunch at Maggie’s Blue Rose.
🐉 History, culture and change define Los Angeles’ Chinatown, which is always worth a visit.
✝️ Actor Ralph Fiennes tries to navigate the politics of selecting a pope in the Vatican thriller “Conclave,” which debuts this weekend.
🎼 Oscar-winning composer Gustavo Santaolalla scores the 1931 Spanish version of “Dracula” at the LA Opera at 2 p.m.

Staying in

🎃 Not into gore and gloom? Here’s a guide to lighter Halloween viewing.
⚾ Former baseball beat writer Melissa Ludtke talks about the challenges of gender equity in sports in her memoir “Locker Room Talk.”
🍳 Whether you’re gearing up for the World Series or for NFL Sunday, here’s a nachos recipe that’s easy and amazing.
✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, Sudoku, word search and arcade games.

L.A. Affairs

Get wrapped up in tantalizing stories about dating, relationships and marriage.

Two people rocking climbing and someone looking at them.

We started texting throughout the day, sharing memes, cat pictures and jokes about the hypermasculine beasts at the gym. By May, I was working two jobs, hosting a fundraiser and arranging a group vacation. I got sick and Trevor swooped in, making me soup, doing dishes, reading with different voices to me in bed, cuddling me and eschewing activities outside the apartment because they just “wanted to talk.” Even though I didn’t feel romantically connected, I felt protected and loved getting to chat until the birds sang with someone emotionally aware and sensitive.

Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team

Andrew J. Campa, reporter
Carlos Lozano, news editor

Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.