There's nothing wrong with thinking big and, thus, there should be no objection to the preliminary application submitted to the federal government last week for money for a high-speed, magnetic levitation (maglev) railroad system project in Western Pennsylvania.

That said, it must be acknowledged that the application won't have an easy path as it attempts to navigate the funding process.

Maglev will be competing against a number of proposed high-speed projects that are geared primarily toward making existing railroads capable of getting up to speeds of approximately 80 mph to 110 mph. Those projects would upgrade railroads with existing technology.

Maglev is an advanced train technology in which magnetic forces lift and propel a vehicle over a guideway. Actual contact between the guideway and vehicle, and thus friction, is eliminated, permitting cruising speeds of up to 300 mph.

That technology is in use in the Far East and is drawing interest and proposals in some other countries.

Maglev is seen by the Federal Railroad Administration as an attractive travel option for the 21st century; the trouble is the cost.

The preliminary application submitted to the federal government last week is for $2.3 billion to help design and build the envisioned maglev system, which proponents say would start with a segment between the Pittsburgh International Airport and the city's downtown area.

Meanwhile, the state Department of Transportation, McKeesport-based MAGLEV, Inc., and Port Authority of Allegheny County are hoping for a line eventually reaching Monroeville and Greensburg.

FRA says, because of Maglev's speed, it would offer competitive time savings compared to aviation in travel markets up to 600 miles long.

Thus, a Maglev system stretching from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, with one of a few stops being in Harrisburg, would offer a plethora of travel possibilities. However, a project of such scope, considering the fiscal and geographic challenges it would entail, seems beyond the realm of hope anytime soon.

Still, there's no harm in thinking big, which is the message accompanying the proposal submitted to Washington last week.

The worst-case scenario would be for the government to reject the idea. But any money that might be allocated would help advance a vision that has been talked about in the commonwealth for several decades.

In 1998, Congress passed the "Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century." One section of the act created a National Magnetic Levitation Transportation Technology Deployment Program, the objective of the program being to demonstrate high-speed maglev technology in commercial service through a project of about 40 miles in length.

The project envisioned for the Pittsburgh area would fit that model.

Adding to the challenges facing the proposal is the fact that the money being requested amounts to more than 25 percent of the federal stimulus money dedicated to high-speed rail projects across the nation.

And, because there are a number of projects proposed for improving existing systems to allow for faster service in various areas of the country, that likely will limit Western Pennsylvania maglev funding.

But considering the stimulus money that's on the table, there probably has been no better opportunity for funding success than what currently exists, and Pennsylvania is right in aggressively pursuing whatever money is available.

An environmental study tied to the proposed Pittsburgh area maglev initiative has been going on for nearly five years, and the final draft of the environmental impact statement could be made public by late September or early October.

The total price tag of the project is estimated at $5.25 billion. According to an Associated Press article, the only place in the world where maglev trains actually are in commercial use is in Shanghai, China.

"If they (federal government) really want to build a true high-speed project, that puts us in a category by ourselves," said Fred Gurney, president of MAGLEV, Inc.

It's an exciting prospect.

Nothing great ever was accomplished without someone thinking big and demonstrating determination. Time will tell whether this Western Pennsylvania venture is given the financial resources and federal encouragement that the work on it up to now justifies.