Midwest Hub

Grand Rapids, MI

Stop on the proposed 17,000-mile maglev network. Next stop: Lansing, MI (58.6 mi).

About Grand Rapids

Grand Rapids is a city in and the county seat of Kent County, Michigan. The city had a population of 198,917 at the 2020 census and an estimated population of 201,183 in 2025. Grand Rapids is the second-most populated municipality in the state after Detroit.

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	Large-city terminal (parametric range $2-4B)	$3B
Land acquisition	Regional factor 1× on $200M base	$200M
Track: Grand Rapids → Lansing	58.6 mi × $500M/mi	$29.3B
Annual operations (share)	Staffing, power, maintenance	$60M/yr
Stop total (excl. annual ops)		$32.5B

Best terminal location (proposed)

The downtown district around Rapid Central Station. Rapid Central Station already anchors The Rapid's bus network downtown with Amtrak's Pere Marquette nearby, and the Wealthy Street and Division corridors offer redevelopment parcels. West Michigan's medical-mile and office growth give the terminal a strong employment catchment.

Before / after

Before and after aerial mock-up of the proposed maglev terminal at Grand Rapids, MI

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

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

Lowell, MI - Kent County town east of Grand Rapids
Ionia, MI - Ionia County seat on the I-96 corridor
Portland, MI - small city west of Lansing

← All 287 stops