Years in the making, the LA Metro train station that soon will connect to a people mover taking riders directly into the terminals at LAX was dedicated on Friday, June 6, marking a major step into a first-ever transit option to and from the busy airport.

The new LAX/Metro Transit Center, located off both the C and K train lines just blocks from Inglewood, was opened to the public at 5 p.m. on Friday, connecting to airport terminals via shuttles. The 500,000-square-foot station’s 16 bus bays will accommodate six LA metro bus routes and eight municipal bus lines. A people mover being built by the Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) is scheduled to open early next year and connect to the station.

More than 300 officials attended the grand opening event, with speakers including LA Mayor Karen Bass, LA County Supervisor and Metro Board Chair Janice Hahn and Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins.

“Here in L.A., when people say ‘Can you give me a ride to LAX?’ You can finally say no way. We finally have a beautiful, reliable rail connection to LAX,” said Hahn.

The C Line from Norwalk to the LAX/Metro Transit Center Station takes about 32 minutes. The ride from the K Line toward Expo/Crenshaw from the Redondo Beach Station to the LAX station takes 19 minutes. Connections to the K Line can be made from the E Line going toward Santa Monica by transferring at Expo/Crenshaw Station. Also, the K Line can be reached going toward East L.A. on the E Line. From the San Fernando Valley, one would take the B Line to 7th/Metro Station and transfer to the E Line. From the San Gabriel Valley, one would take the A Line to 7th/Metro, transfer to the E Line heading toward Santa Monica and take the K Line at Expo/Crenshaw.

Train trips from the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys would take between 85 and 95 minutes, depending on where the ride starts.

The LAX Automated People Mover Project, a 2.25-mile elevated train, was originally set to open in 2023 and pushed back to 2025 and now early 2026. Construction delays and disputes between builder-operator, LAX Integrated Express Solutions, or LINXS, and LAWA reportedly caused the delays.

The people mover is expected to move about 30 million passenger in the first year, according to Harold Samms, who spoke on behalf of LAWA at the Metro station grand opening.

“I can’t wait to be here for the opening of the people mover next year,” said LA Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins. Even without the final leg, Wiggins called the new service at the LAX Metro station “a manifestation of connectedness.”

“The transit center creates a wide range of mobility options,” said L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, including bus connections and a new bike hub. “This is the future of LA, where public transportation is modern, efficient and world class.”

The station has a platform that is 40 feet wide, the widest platform of any station in the Metro system. The bi-level station features bus connections on the ground level and Metro rail and eventually the people mover on the elevated concourse. The airy station features natural daylight, accentuating air flow, aerial views of planes landing amid shaded canopies.

The new LA Metro station is built to accommodate riders with luggage. Escalators run between levels and a wide train platform, concourses and bus bays are incorporated into the station. The station, unlike many in the Metro system, has public restrooms.

Metro began construction in 2021 and the four-year effort cost nearly $900 million, reported Metro. It was funded by Measure M, a half-cent transportation sales tax approved by LA County voters in 2016.

One of the biggest supporters of a rail connection at LAX, who also campaigned hard for Measure M that funded numerous rail lines, was Eric Garcetti. The former L.A. mayor had just come back from India and came to the event from his home in the San Fernando Valley. He served as U.S. Ambassador to India from 2023 to 2025.

“When I campaigned for mayor, I always heard people say: ‘Build me a transit link to LAX.’ When I talked about it, it always got the biggest applause,” he said after arriving on an express train with other VIPs. He said he wanted this to be “Union Station West,” a station that incorporates California’s modernism and values.

“This is a step closer to the dream,” he said in an interview. “When the people mover opens the dream will finally become a reality.”

Wiggins said the train and bus station is more than steel and concrete. It promotes the bondedness of riding in mass transit together both locally and from across borders. But the station will soon add to the mass appeal of rooting for your team, as LA hosts the FIFA World Cup 2026, the 2027 Super Bowl and the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

At the end of the event, LA Metro was named a host city supporter and the official public transit provider for the LA World Cup 2026 by the Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission (LASEC). Eight World Cup matches will be played in Los Angeles.