The much-anticipated people mover at LAX is one step closer to completion, with the first train car unveiled on Tuesday.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti was at the airport, in a hard hat and construction vest, to show future travelers the new mode of transport.
The event provided a first look at the inside and outside of one of the cars that will run through the central terminal. It also gave Garcetti the chance to promise Angelenos that their nightmare of an airport will soon improve.
"[The nightmare] of people rolling their bags down Century Boulevard, asking their friends to pick them up or drop them off, the hell that we knew LAX as, will be a thing of the past," he said.
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The people mover -- designed to transport millions of passengers 24 hours a day -- will connect LAX terminals to parking lots, the rental car center, and to the new Crenshaw/LAX Metro station scheduled to open in the fall.
Each train car can carry up to 50 people, and with four cars per train, a total of 200 people and their luggage can go from one place to the other in each train.
LAX says the people mover will stop every two minutes at each station, for a 10 minute trip end-to-end.
"Not only are we going to have more convenience, and not only are we going to get in and out without the encumbrances we face today, but I think the people of this community are going to be very proud," said Rep. Maxine Waters.
The people mover is scheduled to be ready sometime next year, as part of a $2 billion renovation that is planned to wrap up by the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games.
