Opened on May 12, 2017, it connects Downtown Detroit with Midtown and New Center, running along Woodward Avenue (M-1) for its entire route.

[4] The system was developed by M-1 Rail, a nonprofit organization, and is owned and operated by the Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan.

[9] That and the Department of Street Railways' introduction of buses from 1925 ultimately led to the demise of the original streetcar system in 1956.

[11] Ridership at one time had seen 800 daily passengers, but declined to under 200 after the 1987 opening of the competing Detroit People Mover system.

[16] In 2006 the Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) commissioned a study to determine expanded mass transit options along Woodward Avenue.

[22] The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the City of Detroit signed an environmental impact study on July 1, 2011.

[23] In December 2011, the federal government withdrew its support for the proposed line, in favor of a bus rapid transit system which would serve the city and suburbs.

[24] This decision arose out of discussions between federal Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing and Governor Rick Snyder.

[25] The cancelled 9.3-mile (15.0 km) proposal would have featured seven additional stops north of Grand Boulevard, where the QLine now ends.

[26] On January 18, 2013, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that M-1 Rail would receive $25 million in federal grant support for the streetcar project.

[28] In late 2012, the Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan was created by state law,[29] which enabled LaHood's approval.

[30] On April 22, 2013, the project received final environmental clearance from the federal government, with construction expected to start in the fall.

[34] On July 20, 2014, the Ilitch family, owner of Olympia Development of Michigan, and major investor in M-1 Rail, announced that the streetcar line would include a stop at the new Little Caesars Arena in Midtown.

[39] US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx gave the keynote address at a rail signing ceremony on September 15, 2014, at Grand Circus Park.

Approximately 60 percent of the line is not equipped with overhead electrical wires, and the streetcars are powered solely from lithium-ion batteries on that section.

The tech center building is sited close to Woodward Avenue, and located between Bethune and Custer streets north and east of Grand Boulevard with the streetcar storage yard behind.

[49] The first test move over the line took place on December 13, and the streetcar was initially towed[50] (not yet run under its own power, except at the maintenance facility).

[58] In 2022, a 17-year, $5 million annual subsidy was approved by the Michigan Legislature and signed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer, which will keep the QLINE free to ride through 2039.

Non-revenue tracks continue two blocks to the M-1 Rail Penske Tech Center, which serves as headquarters for the QLine and the garage for the streetcars.