In an attempt to solve the problem of the many parameters of the traditional active disturbance rejection controller (ADRC) and to accurately estimate the mover position and speed required by a permanent magnet synchronous linear motor (PMLSM) system, an improved ADRC and a novel nonsingular fast terminal sliding mode observer (NFTSMO) are proposed. Firstly, the traditional first-order ADRC is simplified, the tracking differentiator (TD) module is removed, and the direct error is used to replace the nonlinear function in the extended state observer (ESO) and nonlinear state error feedback (NLSEF) module. Based on the traditional NFTSMO, the smooth back electromotive force (EMF) is obtained by adding the TD to reduce the phase delay caused by the low-pass filter in the traditional sliding mode observer (SMO), and the actuator position and speed information are modulated from the observed back EMF based on the principle of a phase-locked loop (PLL). Simulation and experiments show that this method not only simplifies the system structure of PMLSM but also optimizes many parameters in ADRC while retaining the original excellent performance. Compared with the traditional NFTSMO, the improved NFTSMO enhances the observation accuracy, reduces the chattering phenomenon of the system, and improves the robustness of the system.