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A Sneak Peek At The M-1 Rail Car: QLINE Makes Limited Debut

DETROIT (WWJ) - All aboard the QLINE!

Developers of Detroit's M-1 Rail Project held a special open house Wednesday -- complete with a tour of the city's first, recently delivered, rail car.

qlineinter-jhewett
Inside the rail car.

Bells and whistles could be heard during the tour - a sound that we'll be hearing more of in spring of 2017.

Members of the media got a sneak peek at the first of six rail cars which will make up the QLINE.

Each car comes in at a price tag of roughly $3 million -- making the line of cars $18 million when they begin riding metro Detroiters along the Woodward M-1 line.

What's a QLINE rail car like and how much will it cost? qline-detjhewett

  • It's 66 feet long, 87,000 pounds, and cost$3 million each
  • Capacity of 200 or more (Typical ridership expected is about 125)
  • $1.50 for "walk up" fee
  • Will travel speed limit on Woodward (35mph)
  • No steering wheel or pedals. (Hand controls)
  • No rear view or side mirrors. (10 high def cameras on rail car)
qline-operatorcab-jhewett
Operator's cab.

How will this effect traffic?

  • Woodward will be clear of major construction by Thanksgiving, although some ingress/egress work will continue
  • Driver training begins by new year
  • Electrical load testing with multiple rail cars will begin

Plan on being able to take the M-1 Rail right around the Tigers' Opening Day... but not on that day.

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