Springfield, IL
Stop on the proposed 17,000-mile maglev network. Next stop: Peoria, IL (63.0 mi).
About Springfield
Springfield is the capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County. Its population was 114,394 at the 2020 United States census, making it the state's seventh-most populous city, the second-most populous outside of the Chicago metropolitan area and the most populous in Central Illinois.
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 terminal (parametric range $1-2B) | $1.5B |
| Land acquisition | Regional factor 1× on $200M base | $200M |
| Track: Springfield → Peoria | 63.0 mi × $500M/mi | $31.5B |
| Annual operations (share) | Staffing, power, maintenance | $30M/yr |
| Stop total (excl. annual ops) | $33.2B |
Best terminal location (proposed)
The downtown district around the existing Amtrak station. Springfield's Amtrak station already sits downtown on the busy Chicago-St. Louis corridor, with the 3rd Street rail consolidation project modernizing the approaches. The state-capital job base and Lincoln tourism sites surround the station, giving the terminal built-in demand.
Before / after
Aerial mock-up (illustrative, not an engineering rendering). Left: the proposed site today. Right: with the maglev terminal.
- Lincoln, IL - Logan County city on the I-55 corridor
- Delavan, IL - Tazewell County town on the route
- Pekin, IL - Tazewell County city south of Peoria