Birmingham, AL
Stop on the proposed 17,000-mile maglev network. Next stop: Huntsville, AL (84.5 mi).
About Birmingham
Birmingham is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the third-most populous city in the state, with an estimated population of 196,357 as of 2024. The Birmingham metropolitan area, with over 1.19 million residents, is the largest metropolitan area in Alabama and 47th-most populous in the US.
Source: Wikipedia summary (full article). Population and facts as published there.
Cost breakdown (proposal-scale estimates — see math)
| Item | Basis | Estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Terminal construction | Large-city terminal (parametric range $2–4B) | $3B |
| Land acquisition | Regional factor 1.0× on $200M base | $200M |
| Track: Birmingham → Huntsville | 84.5 mi × $500M/mi | $42.2B |
| Annual operations (share) | Staffing, power, maintenance | $60M/yr |
| Stop total (excl. annual ops) | $45.5B |
Best terminal location (proposed)
The Intermodal Facility / Uptown district. Birmingham's Intermodal Facility already consolidates Amtrak, Greyhound, and BJCTA buses in one downtown building beside the Uptown entertainment district. The adjacent rail corridors and surface lots provide guideway approaches, and the site anchors the city's downtown revival.
Before / after
Aerial mock-up (illustrative, not an engineering rendering). Left: the proposed site today. Right: with the maglev terminal.
- Gardendale, AL — north suburb on the I-65 corridor.
- Cullman, AL — county seat and German-heritage town.
- Decatur, AL — Tennessee River port city.