Chattanooga, TN
Stop on the proposed 17,000-mile maglev network. Next stop: Huntsville, AL (75.4 mi).
About Chattanooga
Chattanooga is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia to the south. The population was 181,099 at the 2020 census, and was estimated at 191,496 in 2024.
Source: Wikipedia summary (full article). Population and facts as published there.
Cost breakdown (proposal-scale estimates — see math)
| Item | Basis | Estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Terminal construction | Mid-size city terminal (parametric range $1–2B) | $1.5B |
| Land acquisition | Regional factor 1.0× on $200M base | $200M |
| Track: Chattanooga → Huntsville | 75.4 mi × $500M/mi | $37.7B |
| Annual operations (share) | Staffing, power, maintenance | $30M/yr |
| Stop total (excl. annual ops) | $39.4B |
Best terminal location (proposed)
The downtown Chattanooga Choo Choo / Broad Street district. The historic Terminal Station — the 'Chattanooga Choo Choo' — gives the maglev proposal its most poetic possible site, in a district already built around rail nostalgia. The surrounding southside industrial blocks offer real buildable land, with CARTA shuttles and I-24 access.
Before / after
Aerial mock-up (illustrative, not an engineering rendering). Left: the proposed site today. Right: with the maglev terminal.
- Jasper, TN — Marion County seat in the Sequatchie Valley.
- South Pittsburg, TN — small river town.
- Scottsboro, AL — Jackson County hub on the Tennessee River.