| |
|
| |
QLine
announces
Grand
Opening
date:
Streetcar
to Begin
Service
May 12
DETROIT
– The
QLINE,
Detroit’s
new
streetcar
system,
will
celebrate
its
grand
opening
on
Friday,
May 12
with a
special
event at
the
Penske
Technical
Center.
The
Grand
Opening
event
will
begin
with a
morning
press
conference
featuring
elected
officials
and
dignitaries
and will
be
followed
by an
inaugural
first-ride
down
Woodward
Ave.
QLINE
will
open to
the
public
on
Friday
evening.
“QLINE’s
grand
opening
will be
a
historic
day in
Detroit,”
said M-1
RAIL CEO
Matt
Cullen.
“We’re
bringing
rail
transit
back to
the
heart of
the city
and
connecting
the
Woodward
Corridor
in a way
that’s
already
begun to
transform
the
entire
district.”
A
detailed
calendar
of grand
opening
events
is
expected
to be
released
in
April.
“Testing
and
training
continues
to go
well,”
said M-1
RAIL COO
Paul
Childs.
“We’re
excited
for
people
to
experience
their
first
ride on
the
streetcar.
Our team
has done
a great
job
building
a system
that
will be
safe,
reliable
and
deliver
a
best-in-class
transit
experience.”
Construction
on the
line
began in
July
2014.
QLINE
made its
first
test run
on
Woodward
in
December
2016 and
the
streetcar
system
has gone
through
over
1,000
tests in
preparation
for
operations.
M-1 RAIL
kicked
off a
public
education
campaign
with the
first in
a series
of
safety
videos,
helping
Detroiters
get
accustomed
to
coexisting
with the
new
system.
The
video is
available
at:
http://m-1rail.com/qline-testing-spread-the-word/.
M-1 RAIL
also
continues
convening
public
meetings
to
discuss
streetcar
safety
and
answer
questions
about
the
QLINE.
Businesses
wishing
to
participate
in grand
opening
ceremonies
can get
more
information
and
sign-up
on the
M-1 RAIL
website.
The
three-piece,
articulated
cars are
66 feet
long and
carry
125
passengers
on
average.
They
will
travel
the
maximum
speed on
Woodward
— 35
m.p.h. —
and stop
for
traffic
lights.
QLINE
streetcars
are
compliant
with the
Americans
with
Disabilities
Act
(ADA),
allowing
for
station-level
access
for
pedestrians,
and
persons
who use
mobility
assist
devices
such as
wheelchairs.
The
modern
streetcars
are
wi-fi
enabled
with
vertical
back
racks
and a
heating
and
cooling
system.
The cars
are
powered
by a
750-volt
lithium
ion
battery,
operating
60%
off-wire,
the
highest
percentage
of any
streetcar
system
in the
United
States.
The
QLINE
will
operate
from 6
a.m. -
11 p.m.
Monday-Thursday,
6 a.m.-
midnight
on
Friday,
8 a.m.
-midnight
on
Saturday,
and from
8 a.m. -
8 p.m.
on
Sunday.
About
M-1 RAIL
M-1 RAIL
owns and
operates
the
QLINE, a
6.6-mile
circulating
streetcar
loop
serving
12
locations
on
Woodward
Ave.
from
Downtown
Detroit
through
Midtown,
New
Center
and the
North
End. The
QLINE is
the
first
major
transit
project
led and
funded
by
private
businesses
and
philanthropic
organizations,
in
partnership
with
local,
state
and the
federal
government.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
I
HI TECH NEWS
I
SPORTS
I
