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1. No Deliverable/Unrealistic Timeframe: Sutton promises a fully functional maglev HSR in 3 years, a time frame that includes developing a prototype. This is impossible, considering that it took the Germans 22 years and the Japanese 34 years to develop their maglev HSR. A commercially available maglev HSR that carries passengers will take years to develop and be fully tested by public regulatory agencies.
2. No Usable Engineering/No Prototype: Sutton claims that engineering has been done on his maglev HSR, enough to build a prototype. That's not supported by evidence. No sufficient engineering or engineering documents have been presented to governments who signed non-disclosure agreements. One engineer said, “I can't build anything from this,” another said "this is a crock" and several others voiced similar concerns. There may have been some engineers who dabbled in some aspects of Sutton’s ideas, but overall, his maglev HSR is still a concept and there is no proof it is a viable concept.

Sutton’s former Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Adam Nehr, indicated that Sutton’s system is still a concept, just as the moon project started with JFK’s speech and a concept. Clearly Sutton’s claims are in conflict with Nehr’s claims. Take a look at the link http://www.interstatetraveler.us/products.htm for artist conceptions of Sutton’s maglev train.

The lack of a prototype has been an obstacle in signing deals to build the maglev HSR. Also, with no prototype since the company was incorporated in 2003, the company has lost credibility, and cannot bring in serious investors. Sutton’s claim that a prototype will be built soon is based on his unsubstantiated claim that the engineering for his maglev HSR has already been done. He has been making this claim for 5 or more years, yet no hardware at all has been shown to partners, not even a small model.

Sutton estimates his prototype might cost about $10 million (range I've heard is $6 to $20 million), yet the Germans & Japanese each spent between $1 - $2 billion on their development & prototypes according to an industry expert I talked to. Doesn't it seem suspicious that Sutton could produce a working HSR maglev prototype for less than 1% of the cost that real companies did it for?
3. No Funding: Sutton boasts that the Interstate Traveler Company is 100% funded or 100% funding is guaranteed. He claims these funds will become available as soon as a deal is signed, but a deal will not be signed without complete engineering or a prototype. As yet, there is no evidence that Sutton has any guaranteed funds available to develop the system. Clearly his system is not credible enough either for a deal or to raise enough money for a prototype.
4. Unrealistic Cost Estimates: Sutton claims that his HSR maglev system can be installed at about $10 million per mile for track only, or $17 million per mile including traveler cars, pipeline, traveler stations, etc., which is also impossible considering that other proven maglev systems cost several times as much. The Baltimore-Washington corridor of 39.1 miles (62.9 km) was estimated to cost about $95 million per mile in 2002 dollars using proven Transrapid HSR maglev technology.
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A group of investors claims that it can build a 220-mile high-speed rail and utility transmission system for Indonesia by the end of 2011. If built, the $3 billion “Hydrogen Hi-Speed Rail Super Highway” (H2RSH) would shake up the transportation world, providing a material advance in the movement of both goods and people at an incredibly low cost and with few ecological consequences.
It sounds great, until you realize that the technology to be used for the line is untested.
H2RSH would offer fast services between Jakarta, Bandung, and Cirebon on the island of Java if the government approves the construction of the line after a 90-day feasibility study. Financing would come solely from private investors, who claim to be able to make a $400 million annual profit. The Indonesian chamber of commerce, in favor of the line, suggests that it would create an eye-popping six million jobs and has pushed the government to allow project proponents to construct the project.
Indonesia may be making a mistake if it does so. H2RSH would use Interstate Traveler technology — an unproven electric maglev vehicle. Interstate Traveler proposed its system to the State of Michigan in March of 2009, claiming that it would be able to offer 100-mile trips between Detroit and Lansing to commuters for a price of only $4.50, all the while making a profit and building the line with no government aid. No recent intercity ground transportation corridor has been built anywhere in the world without financial support from the public sector. Nor has any been able to offer close to $400 million a year in profits!
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