Santa Clarita, CA
Stop on the proposed 17,000-mile maglev network. Next stop: Simi Valley, CA (16.1 mi).
About Santa Clarita
Santa Clarita is a suburban city in northwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a 2020 census population of 228,673, it is the third-most populous city in Los Angeles County, the 17th-most populous in California, and the 105th-most populous city in the United States. It is located about 30 miles (48 km) northwest of downtown Los Angeles, and occupies 70.75 square miles (183.2 km2) of land in the Santa Clarita Valley, along the Santa Clara River.
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 ($1–2B range) | $1.5B |
| Land acquisition | Regional factor 1.5× on $200M base | $300M |
| Track: Santa Clarita → Simi Valley | 16.1 mi × $500M/mi | $8.1B |
| Annual operations (share) | 2% of $1.5B terminal | $30M/yr |
| Stop total (excl. annual ops) | $9.9B |
Best terminal location (proposed)
The Santa Clarita / Newhall Metrolink station district. The Newhall station is the Santa Clarita Valley's Metrolink anchor, in the city's historic downtown district. Surrounding Old Town Newhall parcels and the rail corridor offer buildable land. The catchment is the SCV's 230,000+ residents — a classic super-commuter market to downtown LA — plus Six Flags Magic Mountain's 3 million annual visitors.
Before / after
Aerial mock-up (illustrative, not an engineering rendering). Left: the proposed site today. Right: with the maglev terminal.
- Newhall — historic downtown district of Santa Clarita.
- Val Verde — small canyon community on the route west.
- Santa Susana foothills — pass-area corridor toward Simi Valley.