A map shows the route of the Inglewood Transit Connector – the planned “automated people mover” train system which will run on elevated tracks through Inglewood in Los Angeles County.
The planned fully elevated and electric, automated people mover system aims to connect Downtown Inglewood Station along the K Line of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system to the city’s major sports stadiums: Kia Forum, YouTube Theater, SoFi Stadium, Hollywood Park Casino, and the under-construction Intuit Dome, two of which will be venues for the 2028 Los Angele Olympics.
The project entered development in July 2021. Construction was originally due to begin this year so it could open before the Olympics, however, it is now not scheduled to open until 2030.
It will stop at three stations (Market Street / Florence Avenue Station, Prairie Avenue/ Manchester Boulevard Station, and Prairie Avenue / Hardy Street Station ) along 1.6 miles of elevated track.
City of Inglewood Council
Last week, the Inglewood City Council selected the companies that will be involved in the public-private partnership which will finance, design, construct, operate, and maintain the proposed line.
Inglewood mayor James T. Butts said the announcement of the selection of a team to develop and operate the project “is another key milestone in the process to make this transformative investment in our city a reality.”
The public-private consortium is called Elevate Inglewood Partners and is comprised of the following companies:
- Plenary Americas US Holdings, Inc. (equity member)
- Tutor Perini Corporation (lead contractor)
- Parsons Corporation (NYSE: PSN) (lead designer)
- Woojin Industrial System Co., Ltd. (automated transit system operator and supplier)
- Alternate Concepts, Inc. (lead operations and maintenance contractor)
In January 2024, the federal transit administration announced it would pay $1 billion towards the project through a grant, covering half of the approximately $2 billion total project cost.
Envision Inglewood
Engineering consultancy Gannett Fleming, which is providing consulting services to the project, said the trains would operate on dual tracks in a “pinched-loop” system where the trains follow each other and switch back at the end of the line to make the return journey on the opposite tracks.
“The vehicles are smaller than traditional heavy rail technology and can maneuver the tight curves required for site-specific conditions,” it said in a statement. “The system will be fully automated to serve an estimated 4 million passengers annually, significantly reducing vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gases while enhancing community safety and mobility.”
The automated rail system is not the only project of its kind in Los Angeles, a city famous for its bad traffic. For over a decade, California has been constructing a high speed rail connection which eventually aims to connect Los Angeles with the Bay Area before one day extending north to Sacramento and south to San Diego at a projected cost of $135 billion.
As of now, 119 miles of the track are under construction at 25 active construction sites in the Central Valley, between Merced and Bakersfield.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.