LAX’s People Mover, the long-awaited rail system that cost at least $2 billion to build, has reached a new milestone since breaking ground more than five years ago.

Los Angeles International Airport announced Wednesday that the final four rail cars of the transit system have arrived at the airport. The project continues to move forward and is scheduled for completion on December 8, 2025. The system is expected to be operational in January 2026.

“Receiving the final rail cars for APM represents an important milestone for this project and the transformation of our airport,” said John Ackerman, CEO of Los Angeles World Airports, in a statement.

Earlier this month, the Los Angeles City Council voted another $400 million for the project to settle legal claims. This is in addition to an additional $200 million provided in May to settle similar claims by the project contractor.

All 44 carriages for the so-called Automated People Mover (APM) have now been delivered. Many hope that this will relieve the long-standing traffic congestion at LAX and finally transport passengers in and out of the terminals as quickly as comparable rail systems at airports in other major US cities.

The city government is trying to complete the project in time for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

The journeys would be free for passengers, would stop every two minutes during peak hours and would take 10 minutes from one end of the journey to the next. The train would run 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Los Angeles Airport’s latest solution to its long-standing traffic and travel problems is a shuttle service for ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft, a less-than-perfect solution that has only reduced the number of cars on the airport’s streets.

According to LAX, the APM is expected to eliminate more than 3,200 shuttle trips per day, resulting in an estimated 27 percent reduction in traffic during peak periods, and improve car traffic at 30 intersections just outside the airport.

While traffic at LAX airport is a concern for many, the construction of the APM train system has not been without controversy.

The price tag of at least $2 billion was sharply criticized last month by Representative Maxine Waters, according to the Los Angeles Times. The Los Angeles congresswoman wrote to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, telling him in a letter that the enormous funds would be better spent on “programs that improve access to affordable housing.”

“To the extent I can do anything to prevent it, I will,” Waters told the Times. “It’s a project that has proven to be completely unnecessary and far too expensive.”

LAX is the eighth-busiest airport in the world and, according to the airport, more than 75 million people visited the facility last year.