Detroit QLINE streetcar service begins amid protesters

CTV Windsor: QLINE streetcar service The highly-anticipated QLINE streetcar service is now open to the public in Detroit. Sacha Long has more.

The QLINE streetcar service is now in operation in Detroit.

The Michigan Department of Transportation and its partner Amtrak are congratulating M-1 RAIL for inaugurating the streetcar service Friday along the M-1 (Woodward Avenue) corridor.

For the first time since 1956, streetcars will be regularly operating along this route, which officials say will offer more mobility choices and provide economic revitalization to Detroit.

The 66-foot long cars carry up to 125 passengers each, and run on a 10.6 kilometer loop along Woodward Avenue, from downtown through midtown to the new centre area.

Once on the QLINE, passengers can visit Detroit's downtown attractions, like Comerica Park, the Fox Theatre, Wayne State University, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, casinos, stores, and restaurants

M-1 Rail says QLINE cost $142 million to build and will cost $5.5 million to operate annually.

But not everyone was celebrating on Friday.

Protectors rallied a few feet from the QLINE launch, calling for a regional transit plan. They argue the service doesn’t go far enough, as thousands of commuters outside of the downtown core are left stranded every day.

Sarah Dewar lives in Windsor, but works in Detroit. She supports the new service but also sympathizes with protestors.

“I hope there will be some formal plans to extend it to make sure it is more useful for people of Detroit, who desperately need better mass transit” says Dewar.

As part of the QLINE celebrations, there will be free rides and events planned all weekend.

In the future, a three-hour pass to use the QLINE will cost $1.50 while a day pass will cost $3. A monthly pass is $30, and an annual pass will cost $285.