The LAX People Mover hits the ground running as the check-in begins. When will it open?

Recent visitors to Los Angeles International Airport are used to seeing the elevated rail that connects the terminals, but next week they will be treated to a new and exciting sight — real trains that run on rails.

The airport’s long-awaited Automated People Mover system will begin operating without passengers on Monday, according to airport CEO Jake Adams, who is overseeing a $5.5 billion plan to improve access to LAX.

In about 60 days, empty trains will operate on the same schedule the airport intends to operate once the system is open to the public. The 2.25-mile electric train system is designed to help reduce congestion at the airport by connecting terminals, parking lots and passenger pick-up and drop-off areas – ferrying passengers over the airport’s infamous horseshoe loop.

“It’s really exciting, because it’s not just a big milestone for this project, but it’s going to be a visual milestone for all of our guests,” Adams said of the inspection. “They’re going to see tons of trains going up and down the tracks all over the LAX area.”

Before passengers can be put on trains, the system must run 24/7 for 30 days “without a hiccup,” he said. Hiccups can include something as big as a train breakdown or as small as a platform door that won’t open.

“There was a very minor incident” Monday when a slow-moving train collided with another train inside the depot, Adams said.

“There were no injuries, no damage, no impact on the test, so it’s one of those things that we will analyze the cause of to make sure we learn from it, so it doesn’t happen again,” he said.

Once the reliability test is done, there will be another round of tests to ensure that the trains are connected to fixed surfaces such as elevators and stations, he said. Then, volunteers will be placed on trains and provide feedback by navigating the system.

At this time, Adams is hesitant to speculate on a possible public opening date.

Construction began on the Automated People Mover in 2019, with a target opening date of 2023. But the program has faced a series of problems and delays.

In September, Los Angeles International Airlines CEO John Ackerman expressed hope that the system would be ready in time for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. But with that sporting event less than two months away, and extensive testing still to be done, it is clear that the goalposts will be removed again.

Adams said he is not interested in how the delay in the opening of the trains will affect traffic during the World Cup.

“The World Cup, for us, is just a blip on the radar, because at LAX our demand for summer travel is much greater than the traffic we expect from the World Cup,” he said. “Even so, we really don’t expect any travel delays.”

Part of the delay in opening the Automated People Mover has been a series of ongoing disputes between Los Angeles World Airports, the city agency that manages LAX; and the contractor in charge of building the rail system, LAX Integrated Express Solutions, or LINXS. Disputes between LINXS and LAWA had cost hundreds of millions of dollars in claims settlement since September.

In December, LINXS filed a federal lawsuit related to work done on the electrical repair system, Adams confirmed. A complaint is a necessary precursor to filing a lawsuit against a public agency. A LINXS spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the status of the dispute on Wednesday.

According to documents obtained by LAist, the latest claim by the government of LINXS is related to the 36 million rand repair work it completed on the electricity maintenance program which it says is not under its responsibility. That work required a power outage between February and July last year, which delayed the testing of technology related to the Automated People Mover, according to LAist.

Adams expressed his hope that any potential disputes and other ongoing disputes can be resolved without further extension of the project.

“We have a lot of conflicts with LINXS right now,” he said. “I hope we will be able to deal with these things and bring this train to the airport and to everyone who has been waiting for a long time.”

Times staff writer Colleen Shalby contributed to this report.