M-1 Rail has unveiled designs for 20 streetcar stations along the upcoming QLINE route. With concepts and designs by the Detroit-based architecture firm Rossetti, each station will recognize the corporate and philanthropic sponsors that helped fund the project.
The 12-by-98-foot glass and concrete stations will recognize each sponsor with an individual custom Pewabic Pottery tile corresponding to their corporate brand along with a plaque commemorating their contribution to the project as well.
“The dream of bringing a modern streetcar to Detroit was made a reality by the visionary business and philanthropic leaders who stepped up to support the QLINE ,” M-1 Rail CEO Matt Cullen says. “Our station sponsors and partners are working together to transform the Woodward Corridor into a vibrant destination to live, work and play.”
The Kresge Foundation in Troy, a nationwide grant making and social investment program dedicated to furthering community development in Detroit was the project’s largest contributor with a gift of $50 million. The organization also played a role in securing sponsors along with the development of design concepts for the QLINE stations.
“This important step forward for the QLINE and M-1 Rail should send a clear signal about what is possible when the public and private sectors break out of their silos and creatively address challenges,” says Rip Rapson, president and CEO of The Kresge Foundation. “These designs affirm that from streetcars to stations, our entire region will soon have world-class transportation at its heart. The system’s benefits will be real, tangible, and felt far beyond lower Woodward.”
The stations will be Wi-Fi enabled by Detroit-based Rocket Fiber, and be equipped with security cameras, emergency phones, and next vehicle alert screens. A mobile app is also in the works that will alert riders about the QLINE and how to connect with other modes of transit along the Woodward Corridor.
“We’re creating a rider-experience that will be safe, reliable, and welcoming to everyone in the community,” Cullen says. “The stations are a terrific example of the private-public partnership driving this project and its benefit to Detroit residents and businesses.”
The QLINE is a 6.6 mile circulating streetcar loop servicing 12 areas along Woodward Ave through Midtown, New Center, and the North End. Work on the underground and vertical elements of the stations is well underway and QLINE remains on track to begin passenger service in the spring.
