Authorities in the southern German state of Bavaria announced on Tuesday that funding has been approved for a high-speed magnetic levitation (maglev) line between Munich airport and the city’s centre.

A deal has been reached late Monday between the Bavaria government, railway operator Deutsche Bahn and industrial consortium Transrapid, including the developers of the system Siemens and ThyssenKrupp.

According to estimations, the controversial project would cost 1.85 billion euros (2.60 billion dollars), sum that will be divided among the German federal government, Bavaria’s state government, Deutsche Bahn, Munich Airport, the European Union and German industry.

The Transrapid project should be completed by 2014 and would allow passengers to sweep across the 37-kilometre distance in just 10 minutes. At the moment the journey between Munich airport and the city’s main railway station takes 40 minutes.

The Maglev train is able to reach speeds above 500 kilometres per hour due to the ingenious system of electric-powered magnets which allow the train to float above its tracks, avoiding friction between metal components.

But many say the Transrapid can’t be successfully implemented at this moment, taking in consideration the rail network and high cost.

Currently, the only active maglev commercial service is in China, the train operating along a 30-kilometre track between downtown Shanghai and the city's Pudong airport.

The project received a huge blow last year in September, when 23 people lost their lives and 11 were injured when a train slammed into a parked maintenance vehicle during a test run at 170 kilometres per hour in north-western Germany.