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Amtrak is circulating a request for proposals for a study of financing options for its Northeast Corridor high-speed rail plan, including the potential for direct equity investment by private investors, Amtrak officials said during a press conference today.

Issued in April, the RFP seeks proposals for “a fully implementable and robust business and financial plan” in which Amtrak would be the HSR system’s key developer and operator. The study also would identify public and private funding sources, as well as address issues of financial risk, debt and investment, said Al Engel, Amtrak’s vice president of HSR.

“Amtrak will aggressively pursue private investment, in combination with funding from the federal government and from other public sources, to achieve our goal of initiating true high-speed rail from Washington, D.C., to Boston,” he said.

Amtrak estimates capital construction costs for the entire project at $117 billion. The project would be completed in four phases, with construction to start in 2015 and end in 2040.

Twenty-six private investment entities have applied for the RFP, although Engel doesn’t expect Amtrak to receive 26 proposals. Proposals are due June 10.

The pursuit of private investment is one of several actions Amtrak has taken since unveiling its next-generation HSR vision in September 2010. Amtrak also developed a “stair-step” approach to achieving 220 mph service, first between Philadelphia and New York City, then between New York City and D.C. followed by Hartford, Conn., then from Hartford to Boston.

An important recent achievement in the plan occurred when the U.S. Department of Transportation decided to award Amtrak $450 million to upgrade a 24-mile stretch of Northeast Corridor infrastructure — from New Brunswick, N.J., to Morrisville, Pa., — to support maximum train speeds of 160 mph, Engel said.

Also, Amtrak recently sent its HSR plan to 16 international HSR operators in Asia and Europe to solicit their feedback. Most approved of the stair-step strategy, but felt Amtrak’s forecasts for expected revenue and ridership of the new system were too low. On the flip side, some builders and operators found their capital costs were lower than Amtrak’s, Engel acknowledged.