BROOKVILLE, Pa. – Brookville Equipment Corporation (BROOKVILLE) delivered the first of six off-wire capable Liberty Streetcars to Detroit’s M-1 RAIL this week for service along the QLINE – set to open in 2017 – nearly two months ahead of contractual delivery.
“The early delivery of this QLINE streetcar vehicle is a product of the outstanding working relationship we have experienced in our partnership with M-1 RAIL,” said BROOKVILLE President Marion Van Fosson. “We look forward to delivering the next five vehicles and celebrating the QLINE opening with M-1 RAIL and the people of Detroit very soon.”
The streetcar’s early arrival marks the second early delivery by BROOKVILLE this year. Two option vehicles were delivered to Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) six months ahead of contractual delivery this summer.
The QLINE vehicles will traverse the 3.3-mile Woodward Avenue rail corridor without the aid of an overhead contact system (OCS) for 60 percent of the route, instead using the Liberty Streetcar’s battery onboard energy storage system (OESS).
Other key features of the 66.5 feet-long, 8 foot, 8 inch-wide vehicles include over 70 percent low-floor area, station-level passenger boarding, and the capability to comfortably transport up to 125 total passengers to key business, shopping, entertainment, and dining centers along the route.
In addition to the QLINE vehicles, BROOKVILLE is also currently under contract with the City of Oklahoma City and the City of Milwaukee for the production of six and five Liberty Streetcars, respectively.
ABOUT BROOKVILLE EQUIPMENT CORPORATION – STREETCAR DIVISION
Headquartered in Brookville, Pa., in the scenic foothills of the Allegheny forests, Brookville Equipment Corporation is a world class American manufacturer of innovative powered transportation solutions for the mining/tunneling, rail freight and passenger transportation industries. BROOKVILLE contributed to the first American manufactured streetcars since the 1950s in 2001 and has modernized, manufactured and remanufactured PCC and heritage streetcars and trolleys for the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (NORTA), the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority (SFMTA) and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). Building upon the company’s 95 years of rail-mounted vehicle manufacturing experience and over a decade of streetcar manufacturing, BROOKVILLE introduced the innovative Liberty Streetcar design in 2012, with the pilot order delivered to Dallas, Texas in 2015. Later in 2015, the Liberty Streetcar onboard energy storage system (OESS) was honored with the LRTA’s Global Light Rail Award for ‘Technical Innovation of the Year.’ Additional Liberty Streetcars have been ordered by M1-RAIL in Detroit, the City of Oklahoma City, and the City of Milwaukee