If you doubted that the QLINE/M1-Rail was going to happen, it doesn’t get more real than the first streetcar being delivered. “We’re bringing a sleek, modern vehicle of exceptional quality to Detroit”.
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Expected to arrive Wednesday, two months ahead of schedule, the first auto arrived even earlier, on Tuesday night and was headed to the Penske Tech Center on Woodward. This keeps the QLINE on schedule for passenger operations to begin in Spring 2017.
Each 20.3m-long vehicle accommodates up to 125 passengers, 32 of them seated, and is equipped with four 99kW ac traction motors. “We look forward to delivering the next five vehicles and celebrating the QLINE opening with M-1 RAIL and the people of Detroit very soon”.
Instead of having its own lane, the QLine cars will share the road with traffic at speeds as high as 35 miles per hour, M-1 Rail COO Paul Childs said at a press conference earlier in the month.
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While completion of the M-1 Rail is slated for spring of next year, this first auto will be seen whizzing up and down Woodward well before that. The QLINE will have station-level access for pedestrians as well as persons who use mobility assistance devices such as wheelchairs.
