Detroit's new QLine celebrates successful first weekend

The QLine is off and running. The first weekend of rides were an overwhelming success.

"I had the opportunity to get on the car quite a bit this weekend and every single car – including those that we could just see out on the line – were completely packed to capacity. It was standing room only on most of the cars.  It was a great weekend,” said Dan Lijana, Communications Officer for the M1 Rail.

The riders agree.

"It brings it back downtown. It brings people back downtown to the city. This is our city! Who would have thought we’d be having trains rolling back again? Nobody ever thought that. It’s wonderful for the city, it’s wonderful for the community, and it’s just a wonderful atmosphere."

So many people in Detroit are excited about the QLine, but a lot of people outside the city are excited as well. We caught up with a couple from Romulus came down just to ride.  

“I remember when I was little, they used to have the trolleys. I was only about 6-years-old then. My husband said, ‘Let’s go down and ride the QLine.’ It’s reminiscing and revisiting the way it used to be.”

There were some hiccups over the weekend.

"The system shut down on Friday and Saturday at midnight, but that doesn’t mean the last car picks up at midnight. So making sure that the riders know when the last vehicle arrives at every station was something we took out of this weekend,” said Lijana. “We’re going to look to integrate a little bit better."

The QLine will continue to be free through this weekend.