I think a kind of "landing gear" would be preferable, as its operation could be station-independent, which in turn centralizes maintenance, therefore reducing r

I think a kind of "landing gear" would be preferable, as its operation could be station-independent, which in turn centralizes maintenance, therefore reducing running costs. AFAIK, there currently isn't an actual Maglev network in operation (just point-to-point - no traffic, no stops), but if there would be, I think it's easier to have any train be able to stop anywhere on the track than to have it stop at specific locations only. But other than that, yes, you're definitely right that any change of elevation of the entire train should be avoided as much as possible. EDIT: I just realized, my last paragraph isn't necessarily true either, i.e. compare the situation to start-stop-sytems on cars, there's a sweet spot in efficiency, when turning off the engine and starting it would cost more than letting it run all the time.