Detroit Streetcar Resumes Sept. 27

The Detroit streetcar line will resume service after being idle for more than a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Known as the QLine streetcar, the 6.6-mile line shut down in March 2020.

When it resumes service it will operate every 15 minutes from 6 a.m. to midnight Monday-Friday and 8 a.m. to midnight on Saturday and Sunday.

Through the end of this year rides on the streetcar line, which is operated by M-1 Rail, will be free.

The streetcar route serves locations on Woodward Avenue from downtown Detroit through Midtown, New Center, and the North End.

It began operations in May 2017 and has carried 3.3 million people since then.

Detroit Streetcar to Resume Late Summer

The QLine streetcar in Detroit will resume operations in late summer.

Operations of the 3.3-mile streetcar line have been suspended since March 29 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

M-1 Rail, which operates the service, said the resumption of service will hinge on such factors as COVID-19 virus containment, return to office work for major employers along the route, stores and restaurants reopening without restrictions, and the resumption of attendance at sporting and entertainment events.

Detroit QLINE to Open on May 12

Revenue service on Detroit’s streetcar system will begin on May 12, QLINE officials said last week.

To mark the opening, there will be a special event at the Penske Technical Center and an inaugural ride down Woodward Avenue. Public service begins that evening.

“We are going to be running simulated operations in April,” said M-1 Rail spokesman Dan Lijana. “We want to make sure that the drivers have as much time on the road (as possible) before we start taking passengers.”

M-1 Rail is the operator of the streetcar system. Construction of the $142 streetcar line began in July 2014 and test runs over the 3.3-mile system began in December.

The 66-foot long streetcars can carry 125 passengers on average and will reach maximum speeds of 35 mph.

They will stop for traffic lights and M-1 Rail has begun a public education campaign with the first step being a series of safety videos to help Detroit residents become accustomed to coexisting with streetcars.

The QLINE will operate between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 6 a.m. to midnight on Friday, 8 a.m. to midnight on Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday.

M-1 Rail estimates that the QLINE will carry 5,000 to 8,000 passengers per day.

“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.”

Detroit M-1 Rail Decides on Station Design

Detroit M-1 Rail has decided on a design for the 20 stations that will dot its 3.3-mile QLINE route in downtown Detroit.

The stations will be glass and concrete and feature Wi-Fi connection, heating, security cameras, emergency phones and next vehicle alert screens.

In a news release, M-1 said the stations will recognize corporate and philanthropic partners whose support served as the foundation for the public-private partnership behind the streetcar line.

The stations will recognize the sponsor with an individual custom tile, along with a plaque commemorating contributions to the project. Sponsorships required a $3 million pledge.
The stations were designed by the Detroit-based architecture firm Rosetti.

Earlier this week, M-1 began streetcar testing on its route on Woodward Avenue. Testing of the tracks with a speeder began last August.

Detroit Streetcar Route Testing Begins

Track testing of the Detroit QLINE streetcar route because last week using a motorized inspection car.

Detroit M-1 Rail, which will operate the 3.3-mile line along Woodward Avenue, said the speeder checked for obstructions and reviewed the physical dimensions of infrastructure to ensure proper maintenance of traffic.

M-1 Rail said installation of the overhead catenary system is 60 percent complete and that 85 percent of the poles have been installed.

Track installation is 83 percent complete. Revenue service is expected to begin in early 2017.

Detroit Street Car to be Named QLINE

Quicken Loans already has its name on a sports arena in Cleveland and now the Michigan-based company will soon see its name on the Detroit streetcar line.

The finance company and M-1 Rail announced last week that the streetcar system will be known as the QLINE and cars will feature a stylized “Q” logo that they said “symbolizes the connectivity accomplished through the rail line.”

Quicken Loans received the naming rights to the streetcar line last May due to its financial support for the project. The companies will also be one of 20 station sponsors.

“The launch of this modern streetcar marks a monumental moment in the development of Detroit in the 21st Century,” said Quicken Loans President and Chief Marketing Officer Jay Farner in a statement. “Quicken Loans is proud to play our part in the beginning stages of modernizing the transit system in our burgeoning urban core.”

The QLINE is expected to be completed late this year. The first streetcar will be delivered during the fourth quarter.

Cars will operate at a top speed of 35 mph over a 3.3-mile route from Congress Street in downtown Detroit to West Grand Boulevard. Construction began in 2014.

Detroit Streetcar Debut Delayed Until 2017

The inauguration of service on Detroit’s M-1 Rail street car line has been pushed back to 2017 due to changes in safety rules and construction delays created by this year’s harsh winter.

The updated safety rules were part of the Federal Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act. Although that law was approved in 2012,, government agencies are just now enforcing its provisions.

“MAP-21 is now just being implemented throughout the whole transit area,” said Paul Childs, chief operating officer for M-1 Rail. “It’s going to be a learning experience. We think we have a sense of it, but it’s new and it’s the government.”

Childs also said that workers are still seeking to catch up from setbacks that occurred last winter.

Also delayed is construction of the streetcars themselves. The first streetcar won’t be delivered until late 2016 with four more cars expected to arrive in spring 2017. Detroit will need at least four cars to launch service.

Childs said much of the lost construction time can be made up with worker overtime. Therefore, he expected construction of the streetcar infrastructure to be finished by late 2016.

Construction of the central downtown core of the 3.3 mile route should not interfere with the annual Thanksgiving Day parade.

The streetcar line will run along Woodward Avenue from Congress Street to Grand Boulevard, serving 20 stations, some on each side of the street.

M-1 Rail Seeking Operator for Detroit Streetcar

An artist’s drawing of the Detroit street car line in operation.

A request for proposals has been issued for an operator to run Detroit’s 3.3-mile streetcar line that is under construction.

M-1 Rail, which is developing the line as part of a $140 million project, has scheduled a pre-proposal conference for March 13, with proposals due by April 16.

Contract talks with a preferred bidder are expected to occur in May with a contract signed in June.

The streetcar is expected to begin operations in December 2016.

The company that wins the contract will begin working with M-1 Rail at least a year in advance of the commencement of operations, said Paul Childs, M-1 Rail’s chief operating officer, in a news release.

The contractor “will be instrumental in developing processes and procedures for operations and fulfilling all of the obligations required by federal, state and city government agencies,” Childs said.

Contractor responsibilities will include hiring operators, scheduling and training employees; developing customer service standards; safety; fare collection; maintaining vehicles, track, switches, signals, platforms, substations, and overhead contact systems/charging bars; washing and cleaning vehicles; and report preparation.

The initial operating contract will be five years with M-1 Rail retaining the option to renew it for another two to five years.

M-1 Rail officials estimate the cost to operate the streetcar at $5 million annually.

“Passengers want a reliable, safe and clean experience and the operator of the line will be a catalyst for that,” Childs said.

When operational, the streetcar line will run along Woodward Avenue between Larned Street and West Grand Boulevard in Detroit.