Davenport, IA
Stop on the proposed 17,000-mile maglev network. Next stop: Cedar Rapids, IA (64.3 mi).
About Davenport
Davenport is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 101,724 at the 2020 census, and was estimated at 100,938 in 2024, making it the third-most populous city in Iowa, after Des Moines and Cedar Rapids. It is situated along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state.
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 terminal (parametric range $1-2B) | $1.5B |
| Land acquisition | Regional factor 1× on $200M base | $200M |
| Track: Davenport → Cedar Rapids | 64.3 mi × $500M/mi | $32.15B |
| Annual operations (share) | Staffing, power, maintenance | $30M/yr |
| Stop total (excl. annual ops) | $33.85B |
Best terminal location (proposed)
The downtown Mississippi riverfront district. Davenport's downtown riverfront packs the Figge Art Museum, the Adler Theatre, and the former Union Station approaches into a compact core. The Quad Cities metro straddles the Mississippi here, so one terminal serves both the Iowa and Illinois sides of the river.
Before / after
Aerial mock-up (illustrative, not an engineering rendering). Left: the proposed site today. Right: with the maglev terminal.
- Wilton, IA - Muscatine County town on the corridor
- West Liberty, IA - Muscatine County town on the route
- Tipton, IA - Cedar County seat on the corridor