LOS ANGELES — Direct rail service to and from Los Angeles International Airport is a step closer to reality after the opening of the LAX/Metro Transit Center on Friday, June 6.
The long-awaited bus and light rail terminal, east of the airport will eventually provide connection to an automated people mover system serving airport terminals. With the People Mover still under construction — it is projected to open in 2026 — the transit center will temporarily connect to the airport by shuttle buses running every 10 minutes.
LA Mayor Karen Bass called completion of the station “a major step forward in how people move into, out of, and through our city,” during a ribbon-cutting preceding the station’s 5 p.m. opening, according to a report from LAist.com.
The station services Metro’s C and K light-rail lines, has a 16-bay bus terminal, and a storage facility for 50 bicycles. Transit agency LA Metro celebrated the opening by offering free transit rides from Friday through 3 a.m. Monday, June 9.
Proposals for rail service to the airport date to the 1960s, but the new station wasn’t approved by the Metro board until 2014. Funding was assured when voters approved a ballot initiative two years later, and construction began in 2021.
More information on the new station is available at the Metro website.
That’s right! Zurich Airport has its own train station located beneath Terminal B, making it easy to travel from Zurich Airport to Zurich’s city centre by underground train in just 10 mins… Stunning Zurich is an exemplary railroad city.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
There’s two types of rail service to an airport:
(1) The train goes to the terminal, or at least within a reasonable walk. (London Heathrow, Cleveland if I recall from years ago, Washington Reagan, Denver).
(2) The train gets to the airport property, then you have to switch to a shuttle bus or to some sort of people mover. (Boston Logan, Chicago O’Hare, New York JFK).
The article above begins with the word “Direct”. Well, maybe.
During my working career, I had the pleasure of flying through Zurich a number of times. The train station there is just a few levels down from the main terminal area.
With the main terminal entrance being very close to the village of Kloten, I was always amazed to see the local children who started their day by walking into the airport terminal and heading downstairs to take the train to school.
I can’t imagine there’s anything similar in the US.
The people mover connection is not “direct rail service” unless we are using the southern dialect version as in, “I’ll be with you directly” which means, “Don’t hold your breath waiting.” But it’s quite a bit more than the transit service to LaGuardia.