Angels Flight Can be Opened

The Metro Board of Directors agreed Thursday to study ways to re-open Angels Flight, a historic railway that travels a short distance along Bunker Hill in downtown Los Angeles.
The board approved a motion by Mayor Eric Garcetti, who sits on the board, instructing Metro CEO Phil Washington to return in 60 days with recommendations for resuming operations.

The motion also asks for information about the railway’s history and “a summary of state and federal safety findings pertaining to Angels Flight.”

Garcetti’s motion came on the heels of a petition circulated by local historians and fans of the 114-year-old funicular to get the rail running again. Tour company owners Kim Cooper and Richard Schave, who started the petition, have gathered more than 1,700 signatures since last week.

The funicular has been closed since one of the two rail cars came off the tracks in September 2013. The railway still uses its original cars from 1901, named Olivet and Sinai.

Photo : Angels Flight from Bunker Hill, looking east toward the Historic Core of Downtown Los Angeles. Photo by Alossix (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons