TRANSIT: Light rail finally coming to LAX

Visitors to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) will now be able to go between the airport and the city via light rail after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority unanimously voted to construct a new $200 million station east of the central terminal. Service could begin as early as 2022. Currently, public transit users trying to get to LAX have to transfer to shuttle buses after taking the train out to the Metro Green Line Aviation/LAX station south of the airport. With the new station in place, travelers will be able to go directly into the airport via the east-west Green Line or the new north-south Crenshaw Line, currently under construction and set to open in 2019. What the station will actually include remains somewhat up in the air, but ideas such as check-in counters, flight information boards and currency exchanges have been mentioned. Early concept drawings of the facility feature a multi-story glass structure with covered rail platforms and a separate passenger drop-off area. Construction is still a long way off, with final design, environmental review and cost analysis all still pending.