The contractor for Los Angeles International Airport’s long-awaited subway has filed a lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles amid ongoing disputes with the airport over project delays.
LAX Integrated Express Solutions accused the Los Angeles World Airports, a city department, of hiding the facts about delays to blame the public on the contractor, changing the drawings that changed the scope of the projects and creating obstacles to progress.
“After many good faith efforts over the past two years have failed to resolve these issues directly and amicably with LAWA, the applicable statute of limitations required LINXS to file this complaint to preserve its legal rights,” LINXS said in a statement. “LINXS remains committed to working with LAWA to successfully deliver the Automated People Mover (APM) and provide a world-class transportation system to the Los Angeles region.”
Originally scheduled for a 2024 launch, the train’s completion date has been pushed back several times due to disagreements between LINXS and LAWA over compensation and timelines. Officials had hoped the train would be running by the start of the World Cup, providing an important test ahead of the 2028 Olympics, but it was not ready in time. The rail inspection is still ongoing without a clear completion date.
Last year, LAWA CEO John Ackerman said he and leaders involved in LINXS’ public and private sector relations met regularly to discuss progress. But the project remains the subject of litigation and has already cost LAWA hundreds of millions in claims.
Transportation experts and airport officials believe the 2.25-mile electric train — an estimated $3.3-billion project and the most anticipated project in LAX’s $30-billion renovation — will greatly improve traffic on 1 World Way. It will provide travelers and workers with an alternative way to travel to and from the airport by car and eventually establish a direct connection to the airport by Metro trains which will ease congestion at the airport.
The lawsuit was filed last week in Los Angeles County Superior Court. In a statement on Tuesday, LAWA said it was still reviewing the installation of the train and that the completion of the train, Skylink, was still a priority.
“Bringing SkyLink is critical to transforming the passenger experience at LAX and ensuring our region is fully prepared to welcome visitors for years to come. LAWA remains fully committed to a collaborative, constructive approach moving forward with LINXS to achieve Passenger Service Availability (PSA) as soon as possible,” LAWA said in a statement. “While we do not comment on our litigation, bringing a safe, robust, and reliable SkyLink system to Los Angeles is our top priority.”
Mayor Karen Bass’ office said she has “invested heavily in making LAX a world-class destination,” including “ensuring the safe and reliable delivery of the SkyLink rail system that will be an infrastructure upgrade for Los Angeles.”
The lawsuit was filed ahead of an October deadline for the project to be completed or the lenders at risk to seek repayment from LINXS, according to the complaint.
LINXS blamed LAWA for the huge delay. In one example, a blackout in 2025 delayed progress by 141 days. The lawsuit says LADWP was responsible for the outage, but LAWA blamed LINXS “even though LAWA knew it and LADWP were responsible.”
The contractor also accused LAWA of changing the road drawings “so that LAWA would try to say (wrongly) that the engineering work in certain areas had been completed, so that other LAWA contractors could work on those areas.”
