But large obstacles remain.

Given the project’s cost, the maglev company would need support from the federal government, but transportation advocates are skeptical that it will be forthcoming. And the U.S. High Speed Rail Association, which supports more conventional high-speed rail systems, has dismissed the maglev train as too expensive and experimental.

Image At a total estimated cost of $100 billion, critics say a maglev train on the East Coast is little more than a pipe dream. But that has not stopped the investors from pushing the project. Credit... Kimimasa Mayama/European Pressphoto Agency

In addition, the maglev company would have to secure rights of way to build the specialized tracks, a serious financial undertaking on some of the most expensive real estate in the country. The company plans to build a large part of its route underground, which would add to the cost.

But Wayne Rogers, an investor in renewable energy and other projects and chairman and chief executive of Northeast Maglev, said the train makes more sense than current proposals to fix transportation problems in the Northeast, including building more roads and fixing tracks to make Amtrak trains go faster. Adding more highways in the region would increase congestion, he said.

As for fixing existing tracks to speed up Amtrak trains, “It’s like putting a Ferrari on the crowded Beltway around Washington: It’s not going to make it go any faster,” Mr. Rogers said.

(Amtrak has its own plans to provide high-speed rail on the corridor: a $151 billion proposal to upgrade its existing system to make it easier for trains to travel at 220 m.p.h., which would reduce the trip between New York and Washington to about 90 minutes. Congressional critics and some transportation experts have called the proposal too costly.)

Another supporter of the maglev, James P. RePass, chairman of the National Corridors Initiative in Boston, which supports increased federal and private investment in rail projects, said he was previously skeptical of the train project, but has changed his mind.

“If you had asked me two years ago, I would have said not a chance,” Mr. RePass said. “But this proposal, which seemed unlikely in the past, is gaining credibility. The reason is that unlike a lot of projects, this one actually has money.”