QLine (file photo)
The final estimated construction cost for the QLine is $144 million, $7 million more than earlier estimates. The streetcars began running May 12.
The additional spending comes from increased costs for the line's six streetcars and for technical infrastructure to let the electric cars run longer on batteries instead of the system's aerial power lines, QLine executives tell Bill Shea of Crain's Detroit Business, who writes:
The project, run by a private nonprofit called M-1 Rail, assembled $187.3 million over the past decade in private donations from corporations, universities and hospitals along the line, and grants from government and foundation sources.
The rest of what's been raised or pledged after the $144 million capital costs is meant to cover operations for a decade, after which time M-1 has pledged to turn the system over to a public regional transit authority to own, operate and fund.
Free rides end Tuesday.
