The world's shortest train ride only 90m long but has an incredible city view

The world’s shortest train line - The Angels Flight Railway - lasts less than one minute from start to finish, covering a distance of just 90 metres, or two city blocks in Downtown Los Angeles, California. It is what is known as a narrow gauge funicular railway - running on a steep incline.

It has just two cars - named Olivet and Sinai - which run in opposite directions along a shared line. 

The funicular has operated on two different sites in LA, using the same cars and station elements. The original location connecting Hill Street and Olive Street, alongside Third Street Tunnel, operated from 1901 to 1969, when the site was cleared for redevelopment.  

In 1952, a plaque to commemorate fifty years of service was erected, which read: “Built in 1901 by Colonel J. W. Eddy, lawyer, engineer, and friend of President Abraham Lincoln, Angels Flight is said to be the world's shortest incorporated railway. The counterbalanced cars, controlled by cables, travel a 33 percent grade for 315 feet. 

“It is estimated that Angels Flight has carried more passengers per mile than any other railway in the world, over a hundred million in its first fifty years. This incline railway is a public utility operating under a franchise granted by the City of Los Angeles.”

The cars were alternately pulled up the steep incline powered by engines at the upper Olive Station, while relying on gravity alone for the descent. 

The current location of this short railway, half a block south of its original home, was opened in 1996 and connects Hill Street and California Plaza. It has been shut several times since, once following a fatal accident in 2001 after which it did not reopen until 2010, and then again in 2013 following a minor derailment incident.

It was launched again in 2017 and is one of the top tourist attractions in the city. 

Before the 2013 suspension, the cost of a one-way ride was 50 cents (39p) but after safety enhancements were completed, prices were doubled, now costing around $1 (77p). 

The iconic LA attraction is highly regarded on Tripadvisor, with one describing it as “a fun five minutes for a buck!”

Another said: “You can't ask for more on this quick ride up and down the hill in downtown. From the bottom of the hill by Central Market, you can easily get into the tram that runs every 2-3 minutes or so. Then you can pay for it using the metro card and you just have to wait about five minutes before getting back on to go down the hill. Good tourist attraction!”

Another described it as a “charming” railway in the “heart of downtown”, while another said it was “a little gem”.