PITTSBURGH — Proponents of a high-speed magnetic train project in Western Pennsylvania, after nearly five years of work on an environmental study, are seeking more than a quarter of the federal stimulus money dedicated to high-speed rail projects across the nation.

The Pennsylvania High-Speed Maglev Project and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation submitted an application for $2.3 billion to help design and build the system, starting with a segment between the Pittsburgh International Airport and the downtown.

The final draft of the $5.25 billion project's Environmental Impact Statement could be made public by late September. PennDOT, the Port of Authority of Allegheny County and McKeesport-based MAGLEV envision a line eventually reaching Monroeville and Greensburg.

Fred Gurney, president of MAGLEV, said it is one of the few truly "high-speed" projects seeking stimulus money. Maglev trains, only used commercially in Shanghai, China, are designed to float a few centimeters above a high-powered magnetic guideway to reach speeds in excess of 250 mph, he said.

"Most of the high-speed projects they're talking about in the stimulus are just about removing obstacles to getting railroads up to 79 or 110 mph," Gurney said. "If they really want to build a true high-speed project, that puts us in a category by ourselves," Gurney said.

But critics say the high-speed rail program aims at developing a nationwide network that can gradually be improved so trains can reach higher speeds. Henry Posner, chairman of Green Tree-based Railroad Development and an investor in high-speed rail, said maglev requires a completely new infrastructure.

"With traditional rail you can use existing right-of-ways where you need to, and build your network on an evolutionary basis," he said. "For maglev to work, it would need to be more of a Big Bang."