Angels Flight, the historic funicular most recently seen in the Oscar- and Bafta-winning film La La Land, will be reopened to the public on August 31 following a nearly $5million safety upgrade.

The 116-year-old cable railway in Downtown Los Angeles has been carefully restored to “meet the highest safety standards”, with enhancements such as new motors, raising the height of the doors to keep passengers from falling out of the car during sudden stops and the instalment of an evacuation staircase connected to the track, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Operated on two cars (Sinai and Olivet), which run in opposite directions along an inclined railway track, Angels Flight transports passengers between the Pershing Square metro station and the top of Bunker Hill - home to various cultural venues including the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), the Los Angeles Music Center and the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Having provided more than 100 million rides, the US national landmark has seen a string of temporary closures and repairs since it was first opened in 1901, including most recently in 2013 when it shut over safety concerns following a derailment incident. Back in 1969, its two cable cars went into storage for 27 years after a major redevelopment of the Bunker Hill area saw its closure, before it was rebuilt and reopened in 1996.

The railway was opened for a day in 2016 for the filming of a scene in La La Land starring Hollywood actors Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone.  

Spanning 298 feet on an 33 per cent grade, Angels Flight claims to be the “world’s shortest railway”, but is usurped by the 128 ft-long Fisherman’s Walk Cliff Railway in Bournemouth, which is one of the world’s shortest funiculars.

A journey up the hill is said to take less than 50 seconds and will cost $1 one-way.

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