Vancouver, WA
Stop on the proposed 17,000-mile maglev network. Next stop: Portland, OR (8.0 mi).
About Vancouver
Vancouver is a city in Clark County, Washington, United States, located on the north bank of the Columbia River. It had a population of 190,915 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Washington. Founded in 1825 and incorporated in 1857, the city was originally established around Fort Vancouver, a fur trading outpost, and is situated directly north of Portland, Oregon, along the Washington–Oregon state line.
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: Vancouver → Portland | 8.0 mi × $500M/mi | $4.0B |
| Annual operations (share) | 2% of $1.5B terminal | $30M/yr |
| Stop total (excl. annual ops) | $5.8B |
Best terminal location (proposed)
The Vancouver waterfront / Amtrak station district. Vancouver's Amtrak station sits at the redeveloped Columbia River waterfront, with the new waterfront park and mixed-use district rising around it. C-TRAN's bus network converges downtown, and the rail corridor is already in place. The catchment is Clark County's 500,000+ residents — many commuting to Portland — with the terminal capturing demand before the Columbia River crossing.
Before / after
Aerial mock-up (illustrative, not an engineering rendering). Left: the proposed site today. Right: with the maglev terminal.
- Hayden Island — island neighborhood on I-5 at the state line.
- Jantzen Beach — riverside commercial area on Hayden Island.
- Kenton — North Portland industrial neighborhood on the approach.