Las Cruces, NM
Stop on the proposed 17,000-mile maglev network. Next stop: El Paso, TX (41.8 mi).
About Las Cruces
Las Cruces is a city in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States, and its county seat. The population was 111,385 at the 2020 census, making it the second-most populous city in New Mexico, and the largest in both Doña Ana County and southern New Mexico. It is the principal city of the Las Cruces metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses all of Doña Ana County and had an estimated 230,000 residents 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 0.7× on $200M base | $140M |
| Track: Las Cruces → El Paso | 41.8 mi × $500M/mi | $20.9B |
| Annual operations (share) | Staffing, power, maintenance | $30M/yr |
| Stop total (excl. annual ops) | $22.5B |
Best terminal location (proposed)
The downtown Las Cruces / Amador crossing district near the rail yard. The Amador crossing area holds Las Cruces' historic rail yard at the I-10/I-25 junction — the state's southern highway crossroads. The surrounding warehouse blocks offer buildable land, and the site serves New Mexico State University and the Spaceport America workforce.
Before / after
Aerial mock-up (illustrative, not an engineering rendering). Left: the proposed site today. Right: with the maglev terminal.
- Mesquite, NM — farming village on the Rio Grande.
- Anthony, TX/NM — border town on I-10.
- Canutillo, TX — upper-valley community.