Midwest Hub

Elgin, IL

Stop on the proposed 17,000-mile maglev network. Next stop: Naperville, IL (18.8 mi).

About Elgin

Elgin is a city in Cook and Kane counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is located 35 mi (56 km) northwest of Chicago along the Fox River.

Source: Wikipedia summary (full article). Population and facts as published there.

Cost breakdown (proposal-scale estimates — see math)

⚠️ All figures below are parametric estimates scaled from the proposal's own budget ($8.5T ÷ 17,000 mi ≈ $500M per mile), not engineering quotes. Methodology is shown so you can check the 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: Elgin → Naperville	18.8 mi × $500M/mi	$9.4B
Annual operations (share)	Staffing, power, maintenance	$30M/yr
Stop total (excl. annual ops)		$11.1B

Best terminal location (proposed)

The downtown district around the Metra station. Elgin's downtown Metra station anchors the Milwaukee District West Line with the Fox River riverfront and the historic downtown a short walk away. The surrounding blocks mix parking and redevelopable parcels, and the I-90 corridor's office parks feed a strong commuter catchment.

Before / after

Before and after aerial mock-up of the proposed maglev terminal at Elgin, IL

Aerial mock-up (illustrative, not an engineering rendering). Left: the proposed site today. Right: with the maglev terminal.

🛤️ Infill stops toward Naperville: the proposal envisions more stops than cities — smaller stations between majors. Plausible infills on this leg:

West Chicago, IL - DuPage County city on the corridor
Winfield, IL - small village on the route
Warrenville, IL - small city near the corridor

← All 287 stops