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Eyes on the Street: Angels Flight Running Again

8:42 AM PDT on September 1, 2017

The nearly 300-foot Angels Flight railway resumed operations today in downtown Los Angeles. All photos: Joe Linton/Streetsblog L.A.

This morning, downtown Los Angeles' historic narrow-gauge funicular Angels Flight railway resumed operations. The 33 percent grade 298-foot railway had been closed since a derailment incident in 2013.

Angels Flight originally opened in 1901 in a nearby Bunker Hill location. In its heyday it carried more passengers per mile than any other railway in the world, over 100 million in its first 50 years. The funicular was shut down in 1969, a victim of Bunker Hill redevelopment. In 1996, L.A.'s Community Redevelopment Agency re-opened the line, moving it to its current location between 3rd and 4th Streets. The railway was shut down in 2001 after a brake failure crash killed one passenger. It reopened in March 2010, operating through 2013.

Trips cost $1, or 50 cents for Metro pass holders.

Mayor Eric Garcetti and City Councilmember José Huizar about to celebrate today's first ride up Angels Flight
Mayor Eric Garcetti and City Councilmember José Huizar about to celebrate today's first ride up Angels Flight.
Angels Flight resumed operations today
Angels Flight resumed operations today.
Angels Flight extends from Hill Street to California Plaza
Angels Flight extends from Hill Street to California Plaza.

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