World’s shortest train ride lasts less than 1 min — but what does it offer?

The Angels Flight Railway, the world’s shortest train line, spans a mere 90 metres, or two city blocks in Downtown Los Angeles, California.

According to Daily Express, it operates as a narrow gauge funicular railway and completes its journey in under a minute, along a steep incline.

Comprising just two cars, named Olivet and Sinai, the railway shuttles passengers in opposite directions along a shared line. Despite being the shortest rain ride, it offers an incredible view of the cityscape.

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. However, the site underwent redevelopment, resulting in the railway’s temporary cessation.

In 1952, a plaque to commemorate 50 years of service was erected, which read: “Built in 1901 by Colonel JW 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% 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.