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, Cincinnati Streetcar Project Updates

Quicken Loans Inc. will get to name the M-1 Rail streetcar project in Detroit.

It won the right to do that by providing financial support during the project’s fundraising campaign.

The 3.3-mile streetcar line is expected to open in late 2016 and cost $140 to build. Construction is currently underway.

Quicken Loans, which is based in Detroit, was founded by Dan Gilbert, who is the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers as well as the Horseshoe Casino in downtown Cleveland.

M1 rail officials said recognition of other project donors is in process.

Meanwhile, Cincinnati workers poured the last section of concrete for the Queen City’s streetcar line on Walnut Street.

City officials said that marked the end of construction work along that street.

Laying of track continues along Main Street, where construction has progressed to 8th Street from 12th Street.

The 3.6-mile Cincinnati Streetcar line is projected to open in September 2016. The cost of the project has been put at $147.8 million.