Springfield, MA
Stop on the proposed 17,000-mile maglev network. Next stop: Hartford, CT (23.8 mi).
About Springfield
Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern Mill River. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 155,929, making it the third most populous city in Massachusetts and the fourth most populous city in New England, after Boston, Worcester, and Providence.
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 — 200K–1M catchment ($1–2B range) | $1.5B |
| Land acquisition | Regional factor 1.5× on $200M base | $300M |
| Track: Springfield → Hartford | 23.8 mi × $500M/mi | $11.9B |
| Annual operations (share) | Staffing, power, maintenance | $30M/yr |
| Stop total (excl. annual ops) | $13.7B |
Best terminal location (proposed)
the Union Station district. The restored 1926 station is already a multimodal hub for Amtrak, CTRail and regional buses. I-91 frontage gives the Pioneer Valley a straight shot. It anchors western Massachusetts and the Knowledge Corridor's Connecticut River cities.
Before / after
Aerial mock-up (illustrative, not an engineering rendering). Left: the proposed site today. Right: with the maglev terminal.
- Chicopee — city on I-91 south of Springfield.
- Holyoke — city on the river corridor.
- Enfield — town at the Hartford approach.