A Maglev train in Japan. Photo by Junko Kimura/Getty Images.

A 15-minute bullet train between D.C. and Baltimore is inching closer to becoming a reality.

It was about this time last year that Japan said they wanted to build a super-fast train that would cut down the trip between D.C. and Baltimore to only 15 minutes.

Now, the Washington Business Journal reports that a group of railroad entrepreneurs, operating as Baltimore Washington Rapid Rail, LLC, are trying to make that a reality and took the first steps by applying to Maryland’s Public Service Commission “for a franchise to operate its railroad.” Moreover, the filing by BWR Rail shows that the Japanese government has committed to providing $5 billion to build the “Super Maglev,” and that the Japanese company responsible for the technology will waive all licensing fees to transfer the technology.

During talks with President Obama in February of 2013, Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe first put forward the idea of lending the U.S. money to conduct the train, called a “Super Maglev.” Last summer, The Telegraph reported that a proposal was sent by Japan to lend the U.S. $4 billion—half the estimated cost to build the “Super Maglev” between D.C. and Baltimore.

But, as Matt Yglesias wrote in Slate last year, that original $8 billion dollar estimate was probably a gross underestimate.

The “Maglev” technology uses an electromagnetic pull to propel a train along the track in a way that’s smoother, quieter, and a lot faster than normal trains; about 300 mph. With a train moving at that speed, it would clock the D.C. to Baltimore commute in at about 15 minutes.

WBJ says that BWR Rail is “hoping to jump-start its project by taking over a railroad franchise granted to the Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railroad in 1912 and subsequently abandoned by the same due to financial difficulty in 1935.”