Kansas City, MO
Stop on the proposed 17,000-mile maglev network. Next stop: Kansas City, KS (2.7 mi).
About Kansas City
Kansas City, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by both population and area. It is located on the Missouri River at its confluence with the Kansas River, within Jackson, Clay, Platte and Cass counties.
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 1.5× on $200M base | $300M |
| Track: Kansas City → Kansas City | 2.7 mi × $500M/mi | $1.35B |
| Annual operations (share) | Staffing, power, maintenance | $60M/yr |
| Stop total (excl. annual ops) | $4.65B |
Best terminal location (proposed)
The Union Station / Crown Center district. Kansas City's landmark Union Station already anchors Amtrak and the KC Streetcar, with Science City and Crown Center drawing millions of visitors a year. The surrounding rail yard and surface lots give room to build vertically without displacing the district's attractions.
Before / after
Aerial mock-up (illustrative, not an engineering rendering). Left: the proposed site today. Right: with the maglev terminal.
- West Bottoms, Kansas City, MO - historic district at the Missouri River crossing
- Strawberry Hill, Kansas City, KS - bluff neighborhood on the Kansas side of the river
- Corridor note: no separate towns fit - the two downtowns are 2.7 miles apart, so any infill would be a neighborhood station