Today workers building the M-1 Rail did something they have done about 1,000 times in the last 27-months. They completed a weld.
This one was special. It was the last weld on the rail.
“This is an exciting day for the city, QLine, M-1 Rail, and all the workers,” said Paul Childs COO of the M-1 Rail.
The weld marks the completion of the rail’s construction, but work isn’t over.
“We’re entering a new phase of the project that will see Woodward Ave. reopened to traffic and QLINE cars soon making their first appearance on the track for training and testing,” said M-1 RAIL CEO Matt Cullen.
Now tests will be done to make sure everything meets specifications. Drivers are being hired. They will be trained. You will soon see streetcars along Woodward.
“They will start to come out here around that first week in December, learning how to operate that street car in traffic,” said Childs.
Plus there will be an effort to educate drivers like you so Woodward is safe for people in cars and in streetcars.
The QLINE streetcars will travel at speeds up to 35 miles per hour as they share the road, traveling with traffic on Woodward Ave.
Hiring for streetcar operators and maintenance technicians is now underway. The deadline to apply is November 23, 2016. For more information, visit the M-1 RAIL’s website.
