‘La La Land’s Iconic Angels Flight Railway Will Soon Be Back on Track
The historic railroad’s antique wooden cars featured in Oscar-winning Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling movie should be back in service by Labor Day
Ashley Boucher | March 2, 2017 @ 11:14 AM
Last Updated: March 2, 2017 @ 11:20 AM
“La La Land” fans will soon be able to once again ride the iconic Angels Flight Railway that was featured in the Oscar-winning musical.
The historic railway, which connects Bunker Hill to downtown Los Angeles, will reopen operation later this year, officials announced Wednesday, according to the Associated Press.
Angels Flight Railway was featured in a “La La Land” montage during which Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling’s characters dreamily wandered around the city, visiting other iconic sites like the Lighthouse Cafe and Pasadena.
“As anyone who has seen ‘La La Land’ can tell you, dreams do still come true here in Los Angeles,” Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti said at a news conference in support of the reopening, describing the new partnership as “the longest journey to the shortest ride ever.”
Garcetti added that prior issues are now being resolved and the railroad’s antique wooden cars, named Sinai and Olivet (on which Stone and Gosling kissed) should be back in service by Labor Day.
Having been a symbol of L.A. since 1901, the tram closed in 2013 after a derailment following a series of safety problems including one in which a passenger died in 2001.
However, thanks to a plan approved in January by the California Public Utilities Commission, safety upgrades are coming. A private company, ACS Infrastructure Development, Inc., has joined a 30-year agreement with the city to beef up safety and to maintain and operate the railway. Some of the upgrades include an emergency ramp and changes to the balancing system.
At the beginning of the 20th century, it only cost a penny to ride Angels Flight, and the railway ferried fashionable Angelenos from Bunker Hill to downtown.
Currently, a 153-step stairway is the only option to get from the hill to the popular Grand Central Market. The tram has had an on-again, off-again relationship with the city, closing in 1969 and reopening in 1996. It closed in 2001 after a fatal mechanical failure, opened again in 2010, and closed again in 2013.
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