Metro’s LAX station opens next week. This is a big deal for Southern California transit riders.
Let me repeat: the LAX Metro Transit Center opening is a big deal.
I’ve been seeing some mainstream accounts – especially in the comments – being dismissive of the new station. The main complaint is that the airport people mover – that will connect the Metro station to the airline terminals – will not open until 2026. The people mover is a separate non-Metro project. Construction hit some snags, but it’s nearly complete.
The transit center is important for getting people – travelers and workers – to and from LAX, but I think it’s probably even more important as filling a key gap in Metro’s growing rail network.
The opening of the Airport Station is really the completion of the initial phase of the Metro K Line. (Later K Line phases will extend the line northward, but that’s another story.) K Line construction got underway in early 2014, when it had been anticipated to open in 2019. Construction issues delayed the opening until October 2022.
But the K Line that opened in 2022 was and is a stub. To travel through the LAX area, K Line riders have to get off the train, walk a block, wait for then board a shuttle bus, then get back on another train.
Sure, millions of people have ridden, and continue to ride, the K Line. Ridership there is increasing. But K Line ridership is the lowest of all Metro rail lines, by an order of magnitude.
In June, when the airport station opens, the K Line becomes a fully functional connection in a network. And I expect that will mean significant increases in K Line ridership.
This network point is perhaps best made visually.
Here’s the current Metro Rail/BRT map.
The rail network has a gap at LAX.
The Metro A,C, E, and K Lines form a sort of loop. But the loop is broken today.
Closing the gap at the airport will complete the loop.
There’s a lot more to like about the LAX Metro Transit Center mega-station. It is a handsome building that replaces the current desolate bus center. It features a bike path and a bike hub. And in 2026 it will make great connections to LAX.
Metro will open the LAX Metro Transit Center on Friday June 6. The station opens to the public at 5 p.m. Metro will offer free rides transit-system-wide all weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). Find more details about the facility and the opening at Metro’s LAX Transit Center webpage.
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